The Transformers: Generation One Universe Series
by Jetplague
Summary: The G1 series is relaunched in this bold new retelling of the heroic Autobots vs. the evil Decepticons. Come and read the new adventure!
1. Default Chapter

The Transformers: Generation One Universe  
  
By Jetplague  
  
" Hear my words and feel my spark Cybertron...I am he who is called Primus. I was the first of our kind to ever be created, the first to ever be given life by the mighty supercomputer of Vector Sigma and I was the first to defy the evil that held us back for so long. I am the beginning, I am the ending and I am the face of those who will all come after me. I gave you hope as we liberated ourselves from our bondage, a new home to call our own as we took the planet of our slave masters, and I shone the light in our darkest hour as Unicron came to destroy us all. All these things I have given you, but without all of you I could not exist, for you are the true legends of Cybertron. As I leave you to become the everlasting spark of the Matrix, remember to learn to live in peace, every faction, every individual, every spark that comes from this world and others. I shall see you all again in the Great Spark beyond, as we will once again be reunited in harmony and living as one mind again. Remember me my Cybertronians, let all that receive this Matrix of Leadership, guide you all with wisdom, passion and courage. This is the everlasting collective spark of those who will follow after me and give the power to guide those who have yet to come.  
  
We are of Cybertron, we were once slaves but now we are the writers of our own destiny. So let it be said forever in your sparks.  
  
Until the day my children...Until all are one with me again. "  
  
- Primus OM-001, The First Leader of Cybertron  
  
A world made of metal hangs in deep space. A war ravaged world full of activity of energy weapon fire and explosions. The planet looks dull and gray, the many years of war have tarnished its once beautiful look and the old, burned out ruins stretched out across its plains show its age. A planet once peaceful and tranquil has now become a drained, burned out shell of a world that those on it still call home.  
  
The planet is Cybertron.  
  
Two warring factions fight on the surface of this doomed planet, a group once known to be a labor class type of robot, The Autobots. The other was once used as a military and slave overseer class of robots, The Decepticons. For millions of years the two have long fought each other, Decepticons believe they are the destined rulers of Cybertron and the Autobots were made to serve them. But the Autobots believe that no one faction should rule another, they believe in equality and freedom for all...even for the Decepticons. The two factions long war engulfed the other outlying factions on the planet, their war made many leave the world and seek peace elsewhere. Some remained but ended up either being wiped out or incorporated into the two dominant warring factions. It was a time of great darkness, victories came and went as each war passed, but the Decepticons and the Autobots would never see eye to eye. Of the many wars there were the major battles that were termed " The Great War ", each one lasted for thousands of years, with no almost no end in sight. To gain a new foothold on each of these Great Wars, new body designs were needed to shield them from the devastating attacks. Some improved on a method that once was only given to a select few of Cybertronians long ago, a helpful disguise called, Transforming. This Transforming was only an alternative mode to help out in production or moving from place to place on Cybertron, but when each side learned they could mimic objects, vehicles or even everyday items, it brought into the war a new strategy of attack.  
  
Decepticons made this transforming a priority; they made them into every thing imaginable, improving each new soldier as the years went on. The Autobots preferred sticking to ground based vehicles or some that could fly, that way they could keep moving as the Decepticons attacked or tried to make an escape. And that is how the planet has been for all this time, since the days of their great leader Primus; the wars have never truly stopped. But there are those who hope to bring about the end of these futile conflicts and bring about a new age of harmony to their world. The planet is in its Fourth Great War; a massive transport carrier robot named, Optimus Prime, leads Autobots. A great descendant of the original Primus, once a lowly dock worker named Orion Pax, rebuild during the war to lead them all to victory and freedom. Megatron is the Decepticon leader, a sliver polished robot that can transform into a large energy plasma cannon or as a hand weapon. His size in robot form is just as big as Optimus Prime, making them an equal challenge for one another. His goal is to rule the planet with an iron fist, to wipe out the Autobot faction once and for all, and then spread out into the galaxy to begin his new empire. The Fourth Great War has taken its final toll on the broken planet, the precious energy they need to stay alive, fuel their weapons and power the entire world is nearly exhausted. Energon, a power that all these " transformers " must rely on must be replenished or their race will be doomed. So as the Decepticons and Autobots fight, both build ships to send out into space, a last ditch effort to find the key to winning the war and the salvation of Cybertron.  
  
The Decepticons have become obsessed with keeping their foot hold on Cybertron, but try to hinder the Autobot's plans to find more energy before they do, and as their enemy prepares to leave the planet, Megatron orders a massive attack on their heavily shielded launch base. Strangely designed jets fill the sky above as they clash with one another in a brilliant display of ariel stunts and weapons fire. The surface around the base is full of combating transformers, Autobots and Deceptions in hand-to-hand and distant weapon combat. An energy shield that continually sparks as the blasts from enemy fire hits it from every angle protects the large golden yellow structure. Inside the domed tower sits a large space vessel standing straight up and aimed at the top of the building inside. The war pounds away outside while the Autobots fuel the ship, pack the cargo and scatter about their duties within. Standing at the base of the ship is a rather large red-blue robot, his size and stance gives him a look of great authority, and well it should. For this is the leader of the Autobots, the one that has been given the Matrix of Leadership, a mantle of power handed down to those who will some day lead them all to freedom.  
  
" OPTIMUS PRIME!!! "  
  
The scream from a smaller yellow Autobot causes the leader to turn around and face him. The small soldier salutes him and talks to him out of breath.  
  
" Sir! We've managed to scrounge up some more Energon for the voyage...but it wasn't easy..."  
  
Prime nodded at his salute, which soon made the small soldier relax his arm. The tiny robot was yellow and black, but his voice gave away his apparent age of not being too old.  
  
" Excellent Bumblebee...how much more is it? ", the leader asks.  
  
" Well...uh...Jazz and Cliffjumper are bringing it in. They said it was about 98 Deco-Quads. "  
  
Prime clenched his fist and tried to calculate the amount in his head, " Hmm...just enough to power our main weapon on board. Good work...wait a minute...where did they get it from? "  
  
Bumblebee laughed, " Trust me Optimus, you don't wanna know. "  
  
Out in the distance, down one of the many damaged streets and roadways of Cybertron, two alien shaped road vehicles come racing down the road. One looks white, with large wide lights on the front and to long strips on its sides. The other is all red, small in size and has a small plasma cannon on its roof.  
  
" Nice going Jazz! ", a voice booms out of the red vehicle, " I almost had him in my sight and you make me miss the shot! "  
  
The White vehicle pulls up closer and hollers back, " Aw cram it man! It wasn't easy for me to take energon out of their booster rocket with you trying to knock off Megatron! Hmft! Face it brother...you're out of your league.... let Prime be the one to put Megatron in the scrap heap! "  
  
" Yeah well...I still say I could have done it. Uh oh.... My sensors are picking up two unwelcome visitors! "  
  
Jazz switches on his monitor device inside his car like interior; a screen on the dashboard shows two shapes in purple heading straight for them.  
  
" Aw crap...I suppose that will be Starscream and his goons. I guess we didn't lose them back there under the overpass. "  
  
As the race towards the Autobot launch base, a group of slender looking Cybertronian jets come flying in above the roadways. Almost on top of the two Autobots, the jets all fire at the speeding road vehicles. The lead jet is gray with red stripes and a large Decepticon Icon on either side of its dorsal fin and small wide wings.  
  
" How dare you steal from the Decepticons!! I will personally rip out your sparks and squeeze the very energon life force out of them!! ", The jet says in an irritatingly squelched voice.  
  
Jazz just laughs as he maneuvers the shots raining down on him from above, " Promises, promises Starscream! You're all talk and no bite.... so no Autobots for you to fight! HA! "  
  
Cliffjumper beside him, also missing the shots, laughs as well, " Hey Starscream!! Here's an energon surge that's right up your tail pipe! "  
  
Cliffjumper's small plasma cannon, aims right at the hovering jet and fires straight at the Decpeticon. The blast knocks out his right engine causing him to wipe out two of his following jet commandos.  
  
" GAAHHHH!!! ", the Decepticon screams as he goes crashing into them.  
  
The two Autobots laugh and continue to increase speed to the base, with two jets still on their tails they continue to dodge the blasts coming down.  
  
" What a moron...One shot and he's down for the count. Megatron must be proud of him...ahahaha! ", Cliffjumper shouts to Jazz.  
  
Jazz begins sending a transmission to the base, " Autobot base one...come in...Get ready for us cause were racing on in!! Wooooo!! "  
  
The two drive on and in the distance the happy Autobots can see the base, all around it war still rages hard.  
  
Out in the battlefield, three Autobots quickly react to the many enemies around them, shooting their weapons and looking around on all sides. The first robot looks rather old in design, slightly damaged from years of wear and tear, his body colors a dull pale green and light sea blue. His handling of a gun is more then just experience, its full of calculated shots and rock steady performance. Kup is his name; a decelerated officer of many wars, now continues to fight for the Autobot cause. The two robots fighting with him look more like twins from a distance, their head designs and color sequences are the only thing that tells them apart. One colored deep yellow is Sunstreaker, the other a lush bold color of red is called Sideswipe. Having been created at the same time, the two act very much like twin brothers, often sharing the same thoughts and even the same impulses. The battle makes them giddy with delight; their skill at shooting Decepticons is masterful, but by no means at good as Kup. As they all shoot away a Decepticon soldier creeps up behind Kup ready to strangle him to death. Sideswipe sees the attacker in the corner of his eye and whips around firing his large white hand cannon at him. The blast wave rips through the soldier and streaks right past Kup's head as well. The Decepticon lies dead at the old salty Autobot's feet, his gaze of amazement makes Sideswipe and Sunstreaker laugh.  
  
" You damn Punks!! ", Kup screams at the two, " Watch your energy strength on those weapons for Primus's sake! You could have taken my head off as well with that shot! "  
  
Sideswipe shakes his head, " Oh Kup, lighten up will ya! I did ya a big favor and this is the thanks I get? "  
  
Sunstreaker now butts in, " Yeah old timer...relax before you spring a gasket or something. Just keep fighting and lets get it over with, huh? I need a new wax job before we leave! "  
  
" Old Timer?! You ungrateful bunch of....", Kup gripes soon wear off as he turns back to fight the Decepticons, " I'll show you young brats how to kill these Decepticons...The Right Way! "  
  
Kup scowls away as he rapidly fires his blaster at hordes of Decepticon soldiers in front of him. The blaze of his gun illuminates the air and soon lays waste to many enemies trying to move in on him. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe glance at one another as they watch the old man go ballistic, they simply shrug their shoulders and help the aged transformer finish the job. A few feet away more Autobots fight along side a massive robot, a towering blue and white Autobot, with a head that almost resembles their leaders. But this is not Optimus Prime; this is their commander, Ultra Magnus. He's a bit more bulky in body structure, and really doesn't share any real similar features to Prime, perhaps only his head design. The smaller Autobots around him are half the size of many of the Autobots, mainly called Minibots, but formidable soldiers nonetheless. The four bots stood proudly around the massive Ultra Magnus, all trying to get their shots at the many Decepticons trying to take over the base. Suddenly a red light and beeping noise activates on the large commander, his arm panel flashes as a signal comes in to him. Tapping the glowing icon, a small microphone and a protruding antenna slide out of his head-helmet.  
  
" Ultra Magnus...", the voice is Optimus Prime, a garbled, static filled transmission he makes to the commander, "...the ship is nearly ready. Jazz and Cliffjumper have just radioed in, so you need to give them cover when they show up. "  
  
" Rodger that Prime! ", Ultra Magnus says, " We'll try to give them a clear way into the base, but we're not going to last much longer out here...it seems Megatron has launched every Decepticon he can spare to stop our plans. "  
  
Optimus Prime signals back, " He's getting desperate Magnus...he knows if we get Energon before him, we'll have enough power to strike back. Just buy us enough time so that Jazz and Cliffjumper get through, once they're inside start pulling every one back in. The shield will have to keep us protected until the very second we can take off. "  
  
"You got it Optimus...Ultra Magnus over and Out! "  
  
The receiver folds back into his helmet and he peers down to the fighting small robot in front of him. A tarnished deep green and yellow minibot, his head is shaped like a sliver half round helmet, with a chiseled hard face sticking below it. Ultra Magnus points down to him and as he speaks to him, the mini-Autobot turns around to hear his words.  
  
" Brawn! We're expecting our delivery men soon.... take lead and clear a safe road way for them to charge through, once their inside fall back to base. The shield will begin to re-cover the entrance the second their inside.... you've got two minutes to get everyone back in before it seals completely again. Understood? "  
  
Brawn salutes his commander, " Yes Sir.... one safe passage to home comin' up! "  
  
Looking over at the various Autobots around him, he screams out loud enough for them to all hear, " Ok you lugnuts! Follow me! We've got job to do.... fall in and make a path!! "  
  
The many Autobots soon run behind him and begin shooting an opening near the road where Jazz and Cliffjumper need to come rushing through to headquarters. As the push the Decepticons back, the bright glow of the two Autobot vehicles lights can be seen in the distance, above them are the jets still pounding away trying to shoot them off the path. They get closer and closer to the area, the sound of their engines at full speed soon gets louder as they come right on in the path cleared by their friends. Re-joining the fight from above is Starscream, he tries to nosedive directly down towards them, firing his weapons and rushing down at full thrust.  
  
" I will not be defeated by two mangy Autobots!! DIE YOU PATHETIC FOOLS!!! "  
  
Unaware to Starscream, Ultra Magnus comes running in and protects the speeding couriers, his gun points right at Starscream and fires away. The impact of the shots singe the Decepticons structure and manages to explode the front part of his jet nose cone. The shockwave barrels him past the road and comes crashing into the ground, once again he manages to fall into a group of his own soldiers, as they were too late to get out of his way. Ultra Magnus blew the steam off of his gun barrel and smirked.  
  
" Magnus...one, Starscream....zip! "  
  
He then runs behind Jazz and Cliffjumper as they finally enter the base, He turns around and signals to Brawn the time has come. Brawn sees Ultra Magnus motioning and gives the order to fall back. All of the Autobots quickly retreat into the large compound, some keeping fire as they help each other rush back inside. The Decepticons slowly move in as the area becomes exposed, but as Brawn and two others beside him make the final steps in, the shield totally seals behind them. All now are safe inside...for now. Starscream transforms out of his jet mode, now he stands in his grey and red colors, his head dark black and his eyes glowing an evil shade of red. Shaking his fists, light in blue color, he lets out a loud scream of anguish.  
  
" Gaaahhh!!! We almost had them!! "  
  
Suddenly a voice transmits to him, sounding very much like a radio signal that Magnus and Prime used, only this voice was that of the Decepticon leader, Megatron. Most Decepticons have internal radio receivers, Starscream being one of them, so while he stands there in fury, Megatron gives the whining soldier his new orders.  
  
" Come in Starscream! This is Megatron...Answer me! "  
  
Placing his hand to the side of his head, Starscream holds it as if he has a headset attached to it, " What is it! I'm busy! "  
  
" Busy are you Starscream?! Not from what I've witnessed it isn't..." the leader says to him in a gruff tone, " You forget I can see the entire battle from above...thanks to my truly loyal spy Laserbeak! "  
  
Starscream looks up and sees the small bird like creature hovering above them all. The scowl on the whiny Decepticon shows he wasn't too happy about it.  
  
" Oh.... alright then. What is it you wish...mighty Megatron? "  
  
" Fall back to headquarters...", the leader now calmly commands.  
  
Appalled by the order, Starscream outwardly refuses, " Are you insane?! Their all trapped inside now.... we have a chance to defeat them once and for all...."  
  
Megatron now screams at the air commander, " Don't argue with me you sniveling spineless dolt!! Just do as I say! The Autobots are too well guarded now for us to make a dent.... besides.... you've managed to wipe out more then enough of our forces to even make a foolish attempt like that!!"  
  
" As you wish....", Starscream soon recoils, " ...But my strategy was working perfectly...if you are so afraid to lead on. Then perhaps I should be the one to take over...."  
  
" SHUT UP!!" the leader screams again, " Get back here with the others quickly, or I'll personally rip out your heart and turn your hide into my new boots!! "  
  
Starscream could finally hear the seriousness in his leader's voice, and gulped in fear of the transformer's rage, " Yeee.... Yeeesss Megatron. At Once! "  
  
The sound of the signal breaking off soon made Starscream call out to the remaining force of the Decepticons. Many of which had stopped shooting as they looked near to exhaustion.  
  
" Decepticons! We've been ordered to fall back! Return to base.... Transform and Retreat! "  
  
Following Starscream's example, the evil transformers all switched modes and followed quickly behind him. They all collectively transport back into the heart of the Decepticon territory, straight on back to the very core of where their base resides. Inside the Autobot Base, the many Autobots listen carefully as the shelling stops. The sound of the Decepticons retreating causes them to burst out into a joyous cheer, it's a brief moment of victory for them and soon they quiet down as they return to performing their various tasks. Ultra Magnus walks over to Optimus Prime and salutes his leader.  
  
" Mission accomplished Optimus! Jazz and Cliffjumper have brought the added energon and the Decepticons have retreated back to Iacon city. "  
  
Optimus salutes back and then pats his large friend's shoulder, " Excellent work Commander Magnus. I'm glad to see you didn't get yourself killed out there. "  
  
"It was a bit tricky out there...but I managed as always. How soon can we lift off? "  
  
Prime looks back at the ship and sighs, " Anytime now. But Magnus...I...I want to ask a favor of you. "  
  
" Sure Prime...any thing for my best friend. Just name it..."  
  
Looking back at his good friend, Optimus Prime's eyes show some reluctance in his request he's about to ask, " I want you and a few others...to.... stay behind. "  
  
" What! ", the commander couldn't believe it; his eyes grew wide at Primes request.  
  
" Listen Ultra Magnus, this is a dangerous mission. Megatron for sure has his ship fueled and ready...he'll no doubt try to follow us until we're dead. I need someone to stay behind and keep the battle going here on Cybertron while were gone. The solar system of Alaxion is no place to make our last stand; I'd rather collect the energon from the target planet there and be back home in time to finish the Decepticons once and for all. "  
  
Ultra Magnus still couldn't believe he wasn't going with his brave friend, " But Prime...you'll need all the help you can get. You've got the female Autobots staying behind...surely Elita One and the others can keep the Decepticons at bay until we come back? Besides who's going to watch your back the next time one of Starscream's goons creeps up on ya? "  
  
Optimus Prime laughs at the comment, a memory of one of their encounters during the long war causes him to reflect on the moment, " Yeah you did save my butt that day didn't you? Ahhh...those were good times my friend. But if this mission fails I'll need someone as strong as myself to keep this band of misfits going. One day you'll be great leader...perhaps even better then myself. "  
  
" You can keep it. ", Ultra Magnus soon smiles and shakes his head, " I'm not a leader Prime...I'm just a soldier. Following orders is what I do best. "  
  
" I know my friend...", Optimus Prime grabs the commander's hand and shakes it, "...that's why I need you to do this for me. Our survival depends on having sacrifices.... one out in the stars and the other staying home to fight the good fight. I promise, we'll try to quickly get enough energon and come back to all of you, let's just pray miracles happen every day. "  
  
Ultra Magnus nods at his wise leader's words, " Maybe we should call it faith of the heart Prime...all our hopes ride with you and the crew. "  
  
Optimus Prime walks away and heads over to the massive ship, as Prime goes walking by, he notices one of the computer terminals nearby scrolling many images on the screen. Looking closer he can see a small attachment device sitting on top of the terminal's table. The device has a peculiar snake like metal arm plugged into it, the video screen is flashing images of the detailed blueprints of the ship, their mission, the solar system they're headed too and everything. The small icon on the side of the device is barely visible and it displays that of the symbol of the Decepticons. Optimus Prime's keen sight makes out the markings and soon realizes there is a spy among them.  
  
" Intruder alert!! We've got a Decepticon inside!!! "  
  
Transforming off of the computer terminal, the Decepticon spy enlarges as he takes form, the dark blue and sliver robot begins to make a mad dash as he tries to escape capture. Optimus Prime goes running after him, the sound of the noisy alarm blaring overhead, Kup and his security officer Prowl run down to see what the commotion is about just as the Decepticon goes past them.  
  
" Soundwave! ", shouts Kup.  
  
Now a horde of Autobots chases him down, some block his only route out and others begin to converge beside him. Feeling trapped, the yellow-eyed Decepticon suddenly presses down on a button on top of his chest. A whooshing sound accompanies a panel opening up from his chest plate as it flips open.  
  
" RAVAGE!! RUMBLE!! EJECT! ", Soundwave says in his resonated monotone voice, " Operation...Escape! "  
  
Two large flat cartridge shaped objects spit out of his open plate, they soon transform and take form as they land on the ground in front of him. Ravage is a black savage looking creature; four legged, with massive razor sharp claws on all four feet. It's head looks slender with one red eye beaming out of its dark features. Rumble is a light blue-ish purple, with some sliver chrome features and two large back weapons that attach to his back. Suddenly his arms transform into two massive pile drivers and starts to impact them to the ground.  
  
" If Autobots do happen to surround you and block the door...then get ready to move out of the way cause here comes Rumble to rock the floooor!! "  
  
The pile divers smack the floor repeatedly; the motion and strength cause the whole area to generate a sizable earthquake. The Autobots shake and fall as the wave hits them, no one can stand on two legs and keep their balance while this happens. Soundwave quickly turns and makes for the doorway, but Prowl soon comes running up and grabs the robot's feet. Prowl is a black and white looking Autobot, his helmet bears a large red " v " shaped fin on the front of it. He keeps a solid hold on the Decepticon as they fall to the ground, Soundwave screams as he is captured and soon calls for help.  
  
" Raaavagee!! "  
  
The large beastly black creature comes hissing and roaring towards Prowl, a massive swat to his head knocks the Autobot right off of the cowardly Decepticon. As Prowl tries to get up again, Ravage pounces on him and opens its mouth to him. Inside that mouth are various large jagged teeth, all of which comp down on the security officer making him yelp in pain. Soundwave once again takes advantage of his freedom, he manages to reach the control panel and quickly open the door. His fingers move so fast on the keypad it's as if he knew the exact sequence in which to open it. The door opens up and part of the shield gives way, just enough for him and his crew to go through. As he runs on out, he calls back to his helpers and continues running once it's done.  
  
" Ravage! Rumble! Retreat! Retreat! Reeeetreaaat! "  
  
Rumble stops his pile drivers and speeds out the open door awaiting him, like wise for Ravage, letting go of Prowl and as quick as lightening sprints out the door. As soon as they all leave the door shuts back down again, the Decepticons managed to escape, Optimus Prime laying on the floor pounds his fist in anger. Prowl gets up holding his shoulder in pain, walking over to him is Kup, who doesn't seem too impressed with his actions.  
  
" What the hell.... I gave you instructions to keep this inside secure Prowl! "  
  
Prowl just lowered his head, " I'm sorry Kup.... I got sloppy I guess...I promise it won't happen again."  
  
Kup continued to harp at him, " You're damn right it won't! I didn't train you for years on end just to screw up this mission! That's it...I'm taking you off of the Ark, I'll go in your place and I'll make sure the security is lock tight! "  
  
Prowl quickly raised his head, his eyes filled with intensity, " NO! I've trained my whole life for this Kup! You can't take it away just because I missed the one Decepticon...."  
  
" One Decepticon is one to many....I'm sorry kid, but if you can't spot one of their spies then everything I've taught you is for nothing. "  
  
Kup was being overly dramatic about the situation, but Prowl was an up and comer in the ranks of his security force, easy to follow orders, loyal to Kup and the duty of protecting the base. But one thing Kup always felt about the young Autobot was that he was too over confident, Kup always made his men trust that inner gut feeling, that safe is never safe enough. Prowl tended to overlook certain things, little as they may be, he never believed they could be a threat. Kup believes that every thing, big or small can be a potential threat, even in times of peace. Now the old security chief thinks the young robot isn't prepared for this mission at all, no thanks to having Soundwave slip past his fingers. Optimus Prime overheard the two bickering, he knew that Kup was being a tad hard on the kid; he walked over to the old salty warrior and gave his advice.  
  
" Kup, the boy said he was sorry...I believe he means it. "  
  
" I'm sorry Optimus Prime, but that's no excuse for his mistake. I should be the one to go. "  
  
The leader just sighed, " This is isn't the time to change positions Kup...we have to launch right away. Prowl is still the best man for the job and I need you hear to keep the others safe. The Decepticons know when were going to launch.... personally I think we need to go this very moment while we have the upper hand. "  
  
Kup twisted his face and looked back at Prowl, " Fine.... the kid can go. But you better be on your toes soldier, cause if I hear you screwed up again.... I'll be the one kicking you down back to the lowest rank imaginable. You got that? "  
  
Prowl raised his head and saluted the warrior, " Yes Sir! I won't let you down again, Sir! "  
  
The young Autobot turned and nodded at Optimus Prime, then ran over to the ship as the many others were starting to load and board the Ark. Kup shook his head and looked up at Prime again.  
  
" Dah! The young...They always think they're so invulnerable. I wish you'd think about this again Prime, some of these young cadets need more training. "  
  
Optimus Prime takes hold of the old man's hand and shakes it, " They'll do fine...this is the time for our turn around. Goodbye you old rust hound, I'll miss hearing your stories about the old days of Cybertron. "  
  
Kup smiles and grips the leader's hand firm, " You too Optimus, I'll try to keep these slackers in check for ya while your gone. Take care and Good luck. "  
  
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On the other side of the city, in the more densely filled city region of Iacon, the large building housing the Decepticons and their ship sits in a purplish dark hue of lights. Inside the massive building that bears the Decepticon logo largely on the outside, the troops are all preparing their ship for flight as well. Sitting in a hovering massive throne, the slivery evil leader Megatron sits in it as he watches final stages of its completion. Megatron's streamline sliver shell still shines as if it was only built yesterday, on his right arm sits his black colored fusion canon, when transformed, it sits on top of his cannon mode as a targeting device. As he sits there in his large hover-chair, Starscream and his jet brethren walk up and raise their arms up to their chest. The standard salute to the leader of the Decepticon armies, Starscream does not salute, he's never liked Megatron for thousands of years. He's slowly begun to question the evil robot's leadership ever since Optimus Prime managed to prevent their kind from winning the war long ago. Megatron almost had complete success before the fourth war began, but when Prime came into the scene the war began to take a turn for the worst for their side. The Autobot's strategies became more aggressive, well planned and even found the courage to battle on without fear. Once loyal to Megatron long ago, the air commander had little respect to show for him anymore, this sliver polished transformer had lost his luster in Starscream's eyes. For him, it was time to begin a new leadership, time for a radical change that would bring about new ideas on how to win the war, Megatron's days were over, time for Starscream to lead. That's how he felt about it anyway, but he was alone in that assumption, no one else felt the way he did. And rather then try to take the throne himself, he'd have to wait until Megatron either died, or betrayed them all. Then the air commander could convince the others to join him and takeover as leader of the Decepticon Empire. For now, he will be cautious, patient, but one day his day will come.  
  
" Tell me Starscream...", Megatron speaks to the air commander in a rather sarcastic tone, "...why is it that you always rush in without a plan. Or even heed to my advice? There was a time you were as loyal to me as any other in here. "  
  
Starscream smirks at the leader, " Those days are long gone, and this war would have been won by now if I had been the leader. "  
  
Megatron rushes out of his chair and backhands Starscream in the face. The slap to him was so forceful it caused him to spin ninety degrees and fall on the floor face down. The air commander slightly dazed tries to get up, and hold his face from the devastating blow his leader gave him.  
  
" You traitor!! If I didn't need your services so desperately I would kill you right here! Don't ever question my authority again, Starscream! When I say pull back...I mean pull back RIGHT AWAY!! Am I making myself clear? Or do you need Thundercracker here to draw you a schematic?! "  
  
The other soldiers all laugh at their leader's taunt to Starscream, as the air commander looks up he sees Thundercracker mocking him. Thundercracker is almost like a clone to Starscream, in fact the bulk of the air defense team he commands are all very much similar in design. Thundercracker is all light blue with some black features, he stands over Starscream holding out his hand and gesturing with the other of writing out a schematic for him. Seeing his own troops laugh at his misfortune makes him feel betrayed, he's the reason many have lasted so long in his ranks, but now like him their all getting overly cocky. Wiping the leaking oil slick from his cracked mouth, the transformer stands up again and faces Megatron. The leader still stands there in front of him waiting for an answer, his eyes are a deep bright red, and a certain evil lurks behind them as any would see from staring at them too long. The scowl on his face shows that he's mad, as hell at the air commander, being so disobedient to his command is very insulting to him.  
  
" No...Mighty Megatron. I.... I submit to your authority. You...are the Leader of the Decepticons. ", Starscream says in a humiliated tone.  
  
Megatron Smiles, " That's very good Starscream. Just like the obedient dog you use to be...excellent. Now then, I can finally tell you of my plan..."  
  
Laserbeak comes swooping down from the top of the building and right onto Megatron's left arm, like any well trained type bird, the loyal spy comes straight to him. The quick return gives the leader a sense that something is wrong, but not sooner was he startled by Laserbeak's entrance, when Soundwave comes running up to the leader. Megatron sees his spy is in a great hurry to get to him and turns to face him as the soldier stops to salute.  
  
" Report Soundwave. "  
  
Soundwave lowers his arm and begins to speak in his usual monotone voice, " The Autobots discovered my presence, and they are preparing to launch at any given moment. "  
  
Megatron's face soon sports and evil grin, " Perfect. The time has come for the ultimate finalization to my plan. Tell me Soundwave.... did you download the information I requested? "  
  
The manifold mouthed blue sentinel nods, " I have the detailed charts of their primary target. They are heading for the system of Alaxon. "  
  
" Excellent Soundwave...well done. Now we have them."  
  
The leader soon calls to all of his warriors in the entire building; all of them stop in their jobs and pay attention to their ruling leader.  
  
" Decepticons! The time has come to crush our enemies forever! "  
  
The roar of the crowd signaled their happiness of this day, screams of death and chanting of "Kill the Autobots " rang out in the entire structure.  
  
" Together we march into victory! Board the ship, prepare the guns and begin the countdown to blast off! ", The leader screamed aloud again.  
  
As the excited throngs of Decepticons start to board the ship, Megatron looks over to one of his soldiers walking over to him. A big purple colored robot with a head looking rather flat and barrel like, in the center is a single yellow eye as the rest is black like a void. His right hand resembles more like a large protruding blaster weapon; the see-through design shows the pulsation of the energy powering it. Transformed, he is able to form a mighty large hand weapon and can act like a long-range cannon, much like Megatron. The Decepticon bows upon approaching his leader and awaits his orders.  
  
"Ahhh...", Megatron speaks, " Shockwave...my loyal city guardian. I have a task for you..."  
  
The yellow eye flashes as the purple guardian speaks, " I am yours to command Megatron. "  
  
" The minute the Autobots take off and the shield starts to drop, have your warriors attack the building. Make sure they spare no one. Once the Autobot ship is out of the launch bay...Level it! Completely! Understand? ", Megatron says to him.  
  
Shockwave salutes the leader, as the details of his plans bring him much joy, " You shall have it Megatron! I will have Cybertron completely Autobot free upon your return! "  
  
The evil leader laughs out loud, " Cybertron will be ours again! Shockwave I leave you to take command until my return. You are loyal Shockwave.... A rare thing these days. "  
  
Megatron looks at Starscream as he utters that phrase, one that seems to make the air commander squint his eyes in anger. Shockwave bows and goes off to fulfill his duties as instructed. The Decepticons continue to climb aboard the ship, the sight of which looks more like an organized army marching into battle. Megatron walks over to the elevator that will bring them to the bridge of the ship, as Starscream walks with him, the air commander can't help but wonder what Megatron's plans are.  
  
" What now Megatron? Surely you don't intend to let Shockwave handle this on his own? You and I both know the Autobots will survive and come back to destroy us. We should attack the entire base with the ship still in it! That way we would be certain of an outright victory. "  
  
Megatron doesn't even glace his way, still walking towards the ship elevator, he calmly tells the commander of his strategy, " No moron! We need to make sure that Optimus Prime is well away from this attack; if he survives and rounds up the few others that do as well.... he could be just as dangerous as before. No...we need to separate them, put a big distance in-between their only strong leader and the only surviving forces left on Cybertron. That way we can be sure that neither Prime nor his few followers here will ever rise up again. How I've dreamed of this moment.... Optimus Prime.... my greatest adversary...gone from this world at long last! "  
  
Starscream begins to see what the leader has in store for them, and smiles just as evil as the leader does, " Yes...Prime won't know what hit him! With no one to organize a new movement here and inspire the troops.... the Autobots are as good as extinct. HAHAHAHAAH!! "  
  
The two board the elevator and rise up to the bridge level. The echoes of their laughs resonate throughout the building, the sound of doom for all Autobots, as the war is about to begin.  
  
Inside the Autobot Base, the ship is being cleared of all surrounding equipment and debris, Optimus Prime finally makes his approach to the elevator that will bring him to the bridge. As he opens the doors to it, a female voice calls out to him. He turns and sees Elita One running towards him. Elita one is pink and white, while she is a robot, her body is sculpted to that of a human female. Her head is adorned with two large protruding antenna spikes and two smaller ones just separated between them. They are all built into her helmet that looks more like warrior head gear, pink in color, but decorative nonetheless. Her face is a softly chiseled, blue eye that shows compassion, and her lips a soft hue of pink as if she is wearing lipstick. This is the model most Cybertronian women look like, so few are there any on Cybertron, she must have been a template for those that came after. Megatron despised women warriors, sexual preference wasn't really in the nature of transformers, since they don't copulate or produce children on the biological nature, and it is a useless creature to him. Females were created long ago as a pleasure line or as additional slave helpers by their creators before Primus's liberation. Autobots are the one group that seems to generally care for these women; the two seem to share a need for companionship and mutual emotion. Decepticons always felt that to be a weak trait in that faction, mercy, compassion and love...it disgusted them. Megatron decreed that any and all females on Cybertron were to be destroyed, for they were a " burden on society and a danger to Cybertronian life ". Thanks to him, only a handful of female warriors remain, those that were once part of the Decepticon faction now have joined the Autobots for protection. Elita One is the leader of the Female Autobots, her strength of spirit is what led them to survival, and shown Megatron the universal truth inherent in all women...hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Optimus Prime and Elita One were destined lovers; they've fought beside each other in many wars, as if they were perfectly made for one another.  
  
" Prime! Don't Leave! ", Elita One begs of him.  
  
" Elita! Go Back! Get to the lower levels with the others!!" Optimus screams at her.  
  
She finally reaches him and hugs the Autobot Leader tightly, " I can't bear to part from you my love.... let me come with you...I want to be with you always! "  
  
" My dearest love...", Optimus holds on to her gently, "...This mission is too dangerous, I would sacrifice the whole of Cybertron to be with you forever. But you know that you're needed here.... and I'm needed on that ship. "  
  
She looks up and stares deeply into his eyes, " I...I know. But I will miss you so much. Come back to me my love...come back to me in one piece. "  
  
Optimus Prime holds her face in his hand, " And you.... stay safe.... and look for my return, for one day, we will be together again. If not now...then in the great spark of the matrix! "  
  
They lean into one another and kiss passionately, an odd thing for a robot to do, seeing how there is no stimulation in that area of their face, but these are Transformers, more advanced then any robot ever built in the whole universe. Love became natural to these advanced machines, which now all think and feel, like any developing creature in the galaxy, love always manages to bring two sexes together. The fact that neither one of them can truly feel the others lips touching is irrelevant to them, it's the action of affection that makes it worth doing. This imitation of kissing is as close as they can get to being physical with one another. But that's love for you, logic, reasoning and small details are inconsequential when two people deeply care for one another. Optimus Prime has no lips to kiss her with, the manifold covering his face up to his nose makes short work of that. But it doesn't matter to either of them, as the long lasting lip embrace shows, two lovers saying goodbye...in a world at war. Optimus Prime finally pulls away from her and back ups a bit.  
  
" Go Elita...help Magnus and the others. The Decepticons will no doubt take advantage of this moment; I need you to be safe.... I need all of you to be safe until my return. "  
  
Elita One holds her lips and nods; " I'll give them a good fight Prime.... just come back to me safe as well. "  
  
Rather then saying another word to each other, Elita One goes running off wiping the simulated tears coming out of her Optics, Optimus Prime enters the elevator and watches his girlfriend as the doors shut in front of his eyes. The lift activates and sends him up to the bridge. Ultra Magnus was watching from the shadows, he didn't mean to eaves drop, but he wanted to make sure his friend got aboard safely. Elita One soon discovered him standing there, the tears welling up in her eyes made Magnus walk over and comfort her. Inside the Ark, Optimus Prime took his command seat on the bridge, he sighed and slowly sat down into it. At the helm of the ship was Ironhide, a red and grey old soldier who seemed very built and blocky, and a sure sign that his design was from an older time. Beside him sat hound, an all green commando Autobot who had a missile launcher sitting on his shoulder. The missile launcher is part of his robotic design, capable of many feats, creating holograms, detaching to become a weapon and even just as a regular explosive missile. Hound is a tracker, a damn good one at that too, he knows when Decepticons are about, like he could almost smell them. Operating various functions around the bridge is like a who's who of Autobot soldiers, all from various walks of life and of different ranks. Bumblebee, Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker, Prowl, Sideswipe, Huffer, the list could go on and on. Needless to say, the large ship was full of Autobots ready to fulfill their mission. Ironhide started the countdown, his voice crackled in an unusual southern type twang, a personal trait that makes him distinct from the others. Optimus Prime was growing impatient, counting down to blast off really made no sense to him, if they were going to go, and then it was time to literally go.  
  
" Ten...nine...eight...", Ironhide counts in his voice.  
  
Optimus Prime shakes his head, " Oh for love of Cybertron...Just hit the switch! "  
  
Ironhide smirks, " Heh...yeah I told them you wouldn't care to stick to procedure. Let's light this baby! "  
  
Ironhide's finger taps the glowing large button in front of his hand, the sound of the engines revs up and soon the building fills with smoke and fire. Standing just out of the way, Ultra Magnus and Elita One watch the ship as it starts to take off, the rush of flame and smoke builds as the ship begins to rise up slowly. As the ship begins to move upward towards the top of the building, the large domed top unfolds and opens itself out of the way of the ship passing through. The outer shields on the Autobot base buckle and soon de-materialize, the building is now vulnerable, just what the awaiting Decepticons had been hoping for outside. As the ship slowly rockets out of the building, Shockwave and his commando units attack the unprotected Autobot structure. Thousands of Decepticon solders come running out of nowhere and begin shooting at the building, the Autobots guarding outside and at the opened domed part itself. Streams of air jets come screaming through and begin to bomb the base below them. The Ark finally clears the building and makes it's rush upward into space, with the shields still down, another Decepticon bomber comes through, one that's carrying a massive bomb attached to it. Optimus Prime watches the monitor; it's a reversed camera that's aimed at the building below. In the image he can see Ultra Magnus and Elita One still inside, just as the jet drops its bomb into the bunker. Rising out of his chair, he screams at the monitor as if the two could actually hear him.  
  
" NO! Magnus! Elita! Get out of there!!! "  
  
He's helpless to watch the horrified looks on their faces as the bomb drops and explodes on impact. The massive chain reaction begins just as the shield comes back on again; the sight also horrifies Kup standing outside.  
  
" Oh God no! The shield! It will keep the explosion inside and they'll all be killed! "  
  
Sure enough, the shield manages to contain the bomb's blast within the area in it. The violent explosion rips the building to shreds and soon stresses the shield to its full capacity. All around the shielded explosion, the Decepticons continue their attack; Autobots fight for their very lives as the enemies march forward. The last thing any of the Autobots see on the ship is their brave kin struggling to stay alive. Optimus Prime slumps back in his chair; the shock of seeing his friend and lover destroyed is a crushing blow to him. The sight of it all infuriates Ironhide, slamming his fist on the controls; he soon tries to turn the ship around.  
  
" Those Decepticon scum!! Don't worry Prime I'll have this ship turned around faster then you can say...."  
  
The leader screams at him to interrupt, " NO! Don't you dare change our trajectory! We must continue forward no matter what! "  
  
" But Prime!! ", the old red and grey Autobot hollers back.  
  
" No Ironhide, this mission is too important to worry about what's happening behind us. If we don't get that energon then none of us will survive this war, we all knew the risks of this mission.... even those who gave their lives. Now keep those coordinates locked in and maintain your position. Understood? I said....is that understood, Soldier!!"  
  
Ironhide remained silent as he stared at him, so did all the Autobots watching the drama unfold on the bridge. Optimus Prime looked around the room and saw all the shocked faces of his soldiers; they all seemed rather displeased with the order he was barking at the old Autobot. Bringing his eyes back to Ironhide, the two stared at each other until the old red and grey Autobot gave in.  
  
" Yes...SIR! Alaxon it is then..." Ironhide grumbled as he turned back to the controls.  
  
The other Autobots went back to their duties, not a word was spoken as they continued on, and Optimus Prime sat in his chair and stewed on the moment. Hound leaned over to Ironhide and asked him a question.  
  
" You think any of them will be alive when we get back? "  
  
Ironhide grips the control panel tightly in anger, " If not...I got me a score to settle with Megatron...and one with our leader as well. "  
  
The ship clears Cybertron's orbit and heads out into deep space.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Down on Cybertron's surface, in the Decepticon quarter, another ship begins to take off from the ground. The Nemesis, the Decepticon battle cruiser that Megatron and the others are using to chase down Optimus Prime. The vessel rockets off of the planet in hot pursuit, the sleek and fully armored ship has a faint purple tone to it's metal, the colors of Decepticon technology. Inside the many warriors sit, Megatron has his own command chair, a large over elaborated throne that is placed in the middle of the bridge. On the large view screen in front of them all is an image of the Autobot ship leaving into space. Soundwave operates the helm of the ship, one seat only for him as he steers the mighty battle cruiser, he frantically pushes buttons and activates switches as the ship moves ever forward. Suddenly he turns around to view Megatron behind him a few feet back, a worried look in his eyes soon makes the Decepticon leader lean in to hear what he has to say.  
  
" We are low on fuel energy...we do not have enough to break orbit! "  
  
Megatron's eyes grow wide, " How can that be? "  
  
Turning back to the controls, Soundwave fiddles with the computers and turns back to give his worried commander the answer, " There is a failure on the starboard engine! It wasn't refueled after the Autobot's took the energy from it! "  
  
" What?!" Megatron screams in disbelief.  
  
Getting out of his chair, the leader stands up and walks over to the various soldiers at their stations. Eyeing them all, he shakes his fist and raises his voice at them. Most tremble in fear at the very tone of his anger, but ones like Starscream don't even flinch.  
  
" Who was responsible for overseeing repairs to the starboard engine? Answer me!! "  
  
Starscream looks at him with great ease, " I was supposed to be in charge of that, but since you gave me the order to follow those Autobot thieves...I gave the job over to Jetplauge, I told him you wanted it done right away. But you know how Jetplague is..."  
  
" Where is he? ", the leader asks.  
  
" Why right over there, Mighty Megatron. ", the Decepticon says with a smile and pointing in the robot's direction.  
  
Sitting by himself near a computer console was Jetplague, the only jet in Starscream's bunch who doesn't look like a clone of them. His head is shaped more slender, a mouth shield covers his bottom face and his light purplish-grey color shows that he's not the cheeriest of fellows. As Megatron walks over to him, Jetplague remains in his seat and looks generally bored.  
  
" Get up you! ", Megatron demands.  
  
Jetplague reluctantly rises up and faces him, " What do you want now? "  
  
The insulting tone doesn't impress the leader at all, " Why didn't you repair and refuel that engine like Starscream asked? Well? "  
  
Jetplague sighed, " I didn't really feel like it. This war is a bore; I was one of the best flying stars of Cybertron until this sham of a war happened. The only joy I get now is doing the bombing raids over the Autobots, which is where we should be instead of this....yawn...waste of time. "  
  
" Your right...we shouldn't waste our time, Jetplague. ", the leader smiles at him in an evil look.  
  
The Decepticon leader grabs hold of him and punches right through his chest, reaching into his inners, he yanks out the robot's energy absorber. Jetplague's face is full of pain and shock, the leader holds the absorber in his hand and shows it to the now dying robot.  
  
" Now we have the means to repair that oversight you made.... thank you Jetplague...your services are no longer required. "  
  
The Decepticon keels over dead; the leader stands over him and kicks his laying carcass on the floor as it leaks oil and fluid all over it. Megatron tosses Starscream the absorber and points to him as he catches it.  
  
" Starscream...place that absorber into the starboard engine port and be quick about it! Or else you will be joining your...ex-bomber star here. Just be grateful that it was his stupidity and not yours. "  
  
The slivery evil leader goes walking back to his awaiting chair, while Starscream looks over at his dead air bomber; the sight of the body makes him recoil in fear. The absorber in hand, he raises out of his seat and stares at it.  
  
" Thanks for covering for me Jetplague. But as they say.... better you than me. "  
  
Megatron sits back down in his chair and leans back to get comfortable again, " Soundwave! "  
  
The blue and sliver spy turns around to face the leader calling him, the leader again points as he talks to him, giving the Decepticon soldier his new instructions.  
  
" Reroute all power from the front main weapons and transfer it into the damaged engine. The energy absorber Starscream is installing will automatically refuel that tank, which should be sufficient enough to break Cybertron's orbit. "  
  
" As you command Megatron. ", the monotone resonated voice says back to him.  
  
The ship rises out of Cybertron and quickly follows behind the Autobot flight path, with their home world disappearing in the background behind them, the ship maneuvers deeper and deeper into space.  
  
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The Autobot Ark continues to blast through deep space, for now, all is calm inside the massive vessel. The warriors all continue to monitor the ship and keep busy in their tasks, but within all of them is a sense of loss as they've witnessed their fellow Autobots demise on Cybertron. Optimus Prime strolls through the many corridors of the ship, looking at each soldier and wondering if what he has done is the right path to their salvation. Mostly he's thinking about Elita One and Ultra Magnus, to witness the horror of their faces as the home base blew up was more then he could bear. The war had lasted so long he has forgotten what peace was like, Elita One and he had plans for the future, they would build a life for one another and live in total harmony. Now thanks to the Decepticons, all that is now moot. As he enters back into the main bridge, he can see the look of doom on each face gazing upon him as he steps in. Ironhide had been chatting with Prowl and a few others, but once Optimus Prime entered they all hushed down and stared at the leader like he was the most evil person in the room. The Autobot leader could feel this uneasiness, he and Ironhide fighting about not turning around to save the others was a rather heated moment. Prime bore a heavy burden, being leader meant having to make the most split decisions whether they are for good or for bad, but it always had some consequences to it no matter what. One thing is for sure; if he hadn't kept going then they would be just as dead as those they had left behind. Energon is a must now, their survival depends on it, and there can be no turning back until they have enough...a one-way ticket, with no certain future. Optimus Prime walked up to Ironhide who now is staring him down, sticking out his hand in friendship, he asks the warrior for his forgiveness.  
  
" Ironhide...I owe you an apology my friend. I know you meant well, but you must now that we couldn't go back. We all had friends and loved ones back there...your a good soldier and I'm sorry I had to pull rank on you. "  
  
Ironhide's face continued to look cold at him, but looking at his leader and down to his awaiting hand for a handshake soon melted that dead face look. A smile crept into the stern proud warrior, he did indeed finally see Optimus Prime's point, and perhaps he just needed to cool down to think about things properly.  
  
" Aww.... Shucks Prime. ", the southern sounding Autobot says to him, " I can't stay mad at you...hell you're doing your best in the worst situation imaginable. Those Decepticons are all getting to us.... guess I just was too hard headed to see the importance of this mission. I forgive you Prime, just as long as you can forgive me for ever doubting you "  
  
The two shook hands firmly, the long war made them good friends throughout the many sticky situations and both have a stubborn attitude that always seems to clash from time to time. Optimus Prime never thought of his Autobot comrades as soldiers, more like good friends fighting the good fight. This is why so many of them remain loyal to him, he's a well meaning robot who always lends a helping hand, he always thinks of others and treats them all with respect. They see how he listens to them and asks for their advice when he himself cannot think of any other strategy, they also see that he is truly destined to lead them all, carrying the Matrix of Leadership is a calling like no other. Not since the days of Primus have any of them felt so strongly about a leader, doomed as they may be, at least Optimus Prime made them last as long as they did. Shaking the hands, Prime and Ironhide settled the argument once and for all. A sigh of relief washed over the other Autobots all witnessing the touching moment, the tension was gone, now they can relax.  
  
Optimus Prime lets go and gives a friendly close fisted tap onto Ironhide's chassis, " Thank you my friend, I forgive you too.... you old cast iron bulkhead you. "  
  
The two shared a laugh, as did some of the others near by. Suddenly, alarm sounds were going off, the room was flashing red from an overhead light that signaled danger was close by. Prowl looks down at his console screen and his eyes soon spot the intruder the ship was warning them about.  
  
" Prime! We've got company! "  
  
Optimus looks over at the black and white colored security chief, " Decepticons no doubt..."  
  
" You got that right. ", the robot shouts back at him, " And man are they ever gaining fast! "  
  
The leader sits back down into his command chair and starts to order his men around again, " Ok...so they're not done with us yet. That's fine.... we'll give them a fight to the finish! Ready all weapons! Ironhide get back to the helm and prepare to fold space.... we're going to Alaxon no matter what. "  
  
Ironhide sits back down and quickly punches in the sequence on the computer board in front of him, " You got it Prime! Alaxon or bust! "  
  
Outside the ship, the various panels on the outer hull pull back and spring out large unfolding gun cannons. Each one aims backward as they prepare to target the approaching Decepticon Nemesis. The sound of them all charging pulsates and the ships main engines begin to also grow louder as it revs up to fold space. The Nemesis is quickly catching up from behind, the ship looks menacing as it tries to overtake the Autobot vessel. Megatron sits inside watching as they inch closer and closer. A evil grin on him shows his inner cruelty, he thinks about the destruction of the Autobots and the death of Optimus Prime, no were else to run, their victory is almost at hand. Soundwave's sensors soon detect the activity happening on the ship in front of them and quickly informs his leader of the situation.  
  
" Autobots are preparing to fire upon us! ", he says in his monotone computerized voice.  
  
Megatron leans in, " Maintain the course Soundwave, charge the main outer guns, I want to cripple that ship no matter what! "  
  
" We cannot sustain it for too long...Energy has been greatly lowered from the redirection of power to the engines! "  
  
The leader seems concerned by that bit of information that Soundwave interjected, " Yes.... that did set us back. Very well...we must forego the main weapons; keep the shield up at all costs. This ship will not yield to these Autobots..."  
  
Soundwave studies the enemy vessel again and reports again, " They have begun to build up power for hyperspace! "  
  
Megatron looks shocked, " What?! They have enough energon for that? So Optimus...I've underestimated you once again, you've managed to scrape up enough power to make a jump, eh? Probably just enough to get you there...but I'll bet by the time your ship finishes the journey you will have nearly exhausted your fuel. Perfect...now I know when to finish them all! " The Autobot ship begins to fire back at the Decepticons, the rapid energy blasts scour the Nemesis, the shields buckling as the various impacts strike it. The Decepticon ship shakes and quakes at the incoming fire, Megatron holds on tightly in his throne like chair, while the others struggle to hold on. Inside the Ark, Optimus Prime watches the results on the monitor, the Nemesis still continues to rocket towards them at an accelerated rate.  
  
" You just don't know when to quit do you Megatron? I know you too...You don't have enough energon for the voyage as well. Well now its time to eat our dust. Ironhide! Activate the jump! "  
  
The command from the leader instantly makes the old red robot push the button to fold space, the ship's engines glow a bright burning blue, soon the ship stretches and leaps away into the vast distance quicker then a blink of an eye. The Nemesis now alone in space as they just miss the Ark. Megatron pounds his chair and stands up, his arm stretches out and points at the viewer.  
  
" Damn you Optimus Prime!! Follow him Soundwave...Fold space and pursue! We'll meet them on the other side and begin the slaughter! "  
  
The Nemesis's engines glow a vibrant purple hue, just like the Ark, it stretches and quickly leaps off into the void of space.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
In the solar system of Alaxon, the various worlds hang in space as they orbit the one yellow sun in the center of it all. Gas giants, asteroid ringed worlds and some developing planets all sit silently. One world in particular is in a flux of violent volcanic eruptions; constant asteroids and meteors bombard the small third world. Two dead moons orbit it and sometime shield the planet from the various impacting rock, one moon looks smaller then the other, but it looks to be the more stable one. Not too far off from where it sits, a massive light flashes and soon a ship comes streaming out of it. Miles away from the third planet, this entering ship is the Autobot Ark, now slowing its engines to cruise the distance between. Inside the Autobots all see they've come out of the hyper jump, Hound and Ironhide continue to fiddle with the controls as they power down the engines. Optimus Prime sighs with relief.  
  
" We made it...Well done Autobots. We've entered Alaxon safely...now then, lets get ready to collect the energy! Power all gun turrets to that third planet. Hold our position and open up the collectors...it's going to take all our energon to fire on that world to make the core unstable and eject into space. Perceptor! Are your ready with those calculations? "  
  
He looks to the left and a few feet beside him sits a red-black robot with a large shoulder mounted cylinder attached, his light blue forearms bear round sliver implements and his hands are black. His dark colored fingers feverishly tap away on his console as he figures out the precise numbers to begin the process. Perceptor is the resident scientist along with Wheeljack, who stands behind him checking his work. Wheeljack is white with some sliver elements to him, two head mounted triangle-like shaped ears stick out of him, slightly sliver and a bit see-through. A manifold that looks more like rippled lines of metal put on top of one another covers his mouth. Together the two, Perceptor and Wheeljack, have been waiting for this day to arrive. They personally picked this system and planet for energon consumption due to its infancy and lack of life living in it. Perfect to take what they want, without having to endanger any other creature's lives. Optimus Prime made them check and re-check that possibility before they came, he wanted to make sure that no life was taken needlessly for their benefit. With everything in place, Perceptor gave his results to Prime.  
  
" I'm ready to begin Optimus Prime...the planet is perfectly ready for harvesting. ", the snooty sounding robot says back to his leader.  
  
" Good...lets get this over with and get home fast..."  
  
Just as they prepare for the extraction, another ship comes warping out a few feet behind them, The Nemesis. The Decepticon ship powers down it's engines and soon is in clear sight of the Autobot vessel. Inside Megatron's ship, the leader sees them and orders Soundwave to attack.  
  
" Now Soundwave...Open fire at them! "  
  
As the Decepticon soldier tries to push the button, he reports a problem to the awaiting leader, " All weapons are offline! I do not have control of the main battery! "  
  
" NO! I will not be denied so close to victory! ", Screams Megatron.  
  
Starscream comes walking up behind his throne and explains what happened, " It seems the jump into hyperspace drained our resources, the shields are at forty percent and the main engines barely have enough power to get us back home. "  
  
" Daaah! I will not let that ruin our victory! Open the air lock; I'm going to make sure they don't get the chance to retaliate! "  
  
Flying upward, Megatron slips through a portal that opens up in the ceiling, another panel opens on the outer hull and the leader comes out of it onto the surface. The Ark in plain sight of him, he transforms into his cannon mode. His side arm, now sitting atop his cannon, acts like a telescopic tracker and targeting lock. The ship now in his view, the targeting system flashes red as it now has perfect aim at the Ark's engines. Inside the Autobot ship, more alarm systems sound off, Prowl once again looks at the monitor and sees the ship behind them again.  
  
" Decepticons!! "  
  
Prime turns on the rear view screen and zooms in on the top of the vessel, he now can clearly see Megatron aiming for them, but he is too late to do anything about it.  
  
" OH NO! Hang on everyone! "  
  
Megatron releases the full might of his energy blast, the Ark's engines explode from contact of the Decepticon leader's strike, Megatron unleashes two more at them and causes the back end of the ship to smolder in flames. Transforming back into robot mode, Megatron revels in his destructive blow against them. The Ark starts to drift and move from the shockwave of the explosion. Inside the Autobots are tossed about like rag dolls, Optimus Prime gets up off the floor where he landed and barks orders at them all.  
  
" Autobots! Repair the ship and be prepared for another attack! Megatron isn't done with us yet..."  
  
No sooner had he said that, when the Nemesis begins to pull along side and Megatron speaking into his chest communication device, orders his Decepticon soldiers what to do next.  
  
" Activate the tracking beams and hold them! Decepticons prepare to board and attack!! "  
  
The Nemesis opens up two large devices along side the ship; two massive green beams come out of it and grip the Ark. Now stable together in space, four large extending metallic tubes come out of the Nemesis and drill into the Ark's hull. The Autobots inside can here the drilling on the various levels and prepare for an invasion. Optimus Prime picks up his massive hand weapon out of his chair's side holder and loads an energy cartridge into it. The other bridge crew arm themselves and stands ready for the intruders as well. The tubes cut through the Autobot ship and soon expose the opening for the Decepticons who all come rushing out into the corridors with their weapons blazing. On different levels of the Ark, the battle ensues, weapons fire at one another, fists pound away at each other, and a horde of Decepticons lead by Starscream make they're way for the main bridge. The bridge is the only place that wasn't attacked yet, but Starscream and the others manage to rip through the metallic doors and begin to pour in. Optimus Prime and the others duck for cover and fire back. Pinned down on either side, they try to take each other out. Suddenly a massive explosion rips out the top of the bridge's ceiling, as the debris comes crashing down, and the large open hole exposed to space, Megatron comes flying down and fires away with his arm cannon. Optimus Prime takes the moment to leap up and tackle the Decepticon leader to the floor. They struggle with one another and each get a quick sucker punch in, the two fight hard with one another and soon find themselves locked in head grips.  
  
" Give it up Prime! ", the evil Transformer says to him, " The age of the Decepticon Empire is at hand! "  
  
" You wish Megatron, I'll never give in to the likes of you! I'd rather kill us all then see you rule Cybertron any longer! "  
  
Megatron laughs, " Who says you'll live to see my rule! This is your day to die!! "  
  
" No Megatron, its all of ours!! "  
  
Optimus Prime punches Megatron in the face, cause him to fall back onto the floor. Optimus rushes over the control helm and activates the only working device, the massive energy collector. The collector moves and points backward from the ship, with one large thrust, the massive energy wave sends the ship spiraling towards the developing third world. The sudden shock of the Ark leaping forwards sends all of them to go crashing back. As the ship rockets forward, the Nemesis attached to the side of it begins to buckle and snap off. The Decepticon ship, with no crew on board to steer it, spins helplessly into the planet as the gravity brings it crashing straight down into it. The Ark continues to blast forward into the developing world, the G-force pins all of them down where they are, Prime holds on to the controls as the force tries to push him back. Megatron soon comes crawling up beside Optimus and grips onto the computerized console for dear life.  
  
" Your insane!! I'm indestructible Prime!! What hope have you with this madness?! You still won't be able to survive and Cybertron will still belong to the Decepticons!!"  
  
Optimus turns his head to Megatron and sees the fear in the leader's eyes " May be.... But at least you won't be leading it for much longer either.... lets see just how indestructible you really are..."  
  
Looking back at the planet they soon see themselves rushing into atmosphere, the sky gives way to the violent, turbulent, volcanic activity taking place on the surface. The ship speeds straight down towards a rather large mountainous volcano, brimming with liquid hot magma and fiery ash dropping all around it. Optimus sees them heading straight for it and Megatron lets out a large frightened shrill of a scream.  
  
" Dear Primus.... let this not be the end. We are with you...Till all are one! "  
  
The ship finally collides with the surface and rips through into it in a fiery explosion of nuclear proportions, a large cloud of smoke and vapor billows to the top of the sky as the impact causes the largest burst of lava to eject all over the globe. The planet shakes and huge earthquakes split open the land all around the impact crater, the last thing we see as the world continues to be born in this new solar system.  
  
End of Chapter one 


	2. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Two - The Re-awakening  
  
One Hundred Million years later....  
  
The once molten, chaotic planet has now long cooled. The sky is not longer full of ash and fire, but of blue sky and white wispy like clouds far above. The ground no longer black and flowing with lava, has given rise to vast open fields of lush greenery, trees, grass and plant life of every kind imaginable. In the mountainous range that stretches for miles, other life frolics in the countryside. Biological creatures that feed on the foliage all around, birds of all kinds fly about in the open sky, some catching small furry prey on the ground below them. But as one bird settles down to feast on this meal it has caught, a loud noise can be heard heading its way. A roar of an engine soon startles the creature that goes flapping by it as it charges up the rocky terrain. A motorized vehicle with large rubber wheels that seem to be made for this rough road it comes riding on. The road looks rather warn and used often as the now green car makes its way ahead. A Hummer, a type of all terrain vehicle, build for all sorts of rugged country and just one of thousands of cars build to take someone from point A to B. The hummer car rides straight on ahead to a large mountain; all around it is clouds of smoke and sounds of construction being done. As the Hummer approaches it comes to stop near the bottom area that's being worked on. All around are bi-pedal creatures, fleshy light skin and some in darker tones they all are. Wearing crude fabricated cloth on them with white and yellow helmets on their heads. The planet is full of these creatures, living on the leftover islands of dirt and rock the violent eruptions left long ago. Surrounded by water, the planet is a thriving world of life. These bi-peds have been here for a long time and pretty much dominate the entire world, they call it home, and they call it...Earth.  
  
Humans they are called, living on this Earth planet, a very strange species. Wars have come and gone within just a few thousand years of their existence, they crave for peace but tend to wage war most of the time. Not all are like this though; many are generally trying to live their lives in meaningless tasks and jobs. They've only been on this Earth for a short time, a few thousands of years or so, but have made progress by leaps and bounds. Now they can even launch themselves into the stars, but only for a short while, for they have only yet begun to begin their space age. A species with much potential, great pride and very dangerous amongst themselves and others if provoked to easily. A young race of beings who don't understand that the universe is full of life, too primitive to see it or communicate with it, they try their best to expand their knowledge and understanding. The sexes on this planet are split into two groups, male and female. The two procreate with each other, a biological function that repeats itself with each individual maturing for that age of copulating. They multiply by the thousands, which is why the Earth is covered with their kind. A fragile, flesh bound creature they all are, but are publicly shy about their naked bodies. Clothes are the norm for this species, not only to shield their soft skinned bodies, but as a means of protecting it from the elements of this planet as well. Each landmass on this Earth is ruled individually, some have fractured governments within each landmass, and some don't. Humans are very territorial, but also very curious beings, which brings these two human males to this mountain region.  
  
Now as the Hummer shuts off it's engine, to well dressed humans step out of the car, one looking light in color and slightly matured, and the other a dark skinned individual wearing protective, but fashionable, eye wear. Both men walk upwards towards the heavy dirty yellow construction machinery working on the mountain, the drilling and pounding of the machines causes the rock to crack and crumble as they continuously work on it. Walking up to one of the men in the yellow hard hats, the one lighter skinned males taps the worker on the shoulder, causing the man to turn around to face them.  
  
" Excuse Me! ", the man says politely to him, " I'm looking for Witwicky? Arthur Witwicky...have you seen him by any chance? "  
  
The man wipes the sweat off his brow, as the heat is causing him to perspire, " Your looking at him mack! "  
  
Arthur Witwicky is a rather older tanned white gentleman, wearing jeans and a dirty worn out plaid shirt, his health is very well rounded...just like his middle aged weight he carries around his mid-section. A man that has worked in construction all of his life, in various roles and jobs, a hard worker to the core and a gentle soul to boot.  
  
The dark colored male in the sunglasses reaches over and shakes his hand, " Mr. Witwicky...a pleasure to meet you. I don't suppose you know why we're here do you? "  
  
" Yeah I think I do...your here to take over this mess I suppose. And stop calling me Mr. Witwicky.... most people just call me Sparkplug. "  
  
The two men look at each other in confusion and look back at him, " Why is that? ", the lighter skinned man asks.  
  
" It's shorter and easier to say then Witwicky.", he says with a grin, " But mainly because I'm good at fixing machinery and vehicles. Just a nickname fellas.... I'd rather you call me by that is all. "  
  
The two men nod in understanding and the dark man speaks to him again, " Ok Sparkplug...wanna tell me what happened? What's this big problem you have? "  
  
Sparkplug just cleans his nose with a rag he pulled of his back pocket, and when finished he looks at them again, " It's rather hard to explain. You see we where supposed to blast through this here mountain for a new roadway, one of them super tunnels I guess you call them. Anyways, my boys were cutting through it...and well...we kinda came across something. Something you government types might be very, very interested in. "  
  
As the two men look at each other, Sparkplug motions them to follow his lead, they all walk up the hill side where they've been working on and come to an open rock face they've uncovered. Cut into the rock, like an archway, the men have shaped it around what lies in the center. Stopping at the foot of it, the look up and see a massive metallic structure deeply embedded in the rock face, the large metal towers over them all as high as they've cut the rock around. The golden-yellow/orange metal looks old but manufactured. Another arch is seen on the metal, still rather large, it appears to look more like large doors, the kind you'd see in a science fiction space ship. On the doors, right in the middle of the seam of the doors, is the marker of the Autobot faction symbol. Unknown to them as to what the marker means, they stare at it in amazement and realize this is no natural metal they've discovered.  
  
"My god.... it's...it's huge! ", the white dressed man remarks.  
  
The darker man takes off his sunglasses and shares his partner's sentiments, " Damn! What the hell is that thing! It must be thirty or forty foot in height! "  
  
Sparkplug just stares at it with them, " Bout that I figure as well. I thought we must have stumbled upon an old Indian burial site.... but I don't think this is anything they've ever built. In fact I don't think I've ever seen that kind of weird symbol before in my life. "  
  
A voice shouts out from behind them as the continue to stare at it all, " Nobody has.... this thing must have been buried millions of years ago. "  
  
They all turn around and see a young, white male with brown hair and brown eyes looking at them. He wears standard construction boots, dirty blue jeans, a pale sand colored short sleeve shirt and a yellow construction hat.  
  
Sparkplug clears his throat and walks over to the young male, he places his arm around the boy's shoulder and looks back at the two well dressed men.  
  
" Uhm...this is my son, Spike. He's here helping out his old man for a while; he dropped out of University awhile back...but he think he how old this stuff is. Son, I think this best left to the professionals. "  
  
Spike interrupts his father, " I took courses in geology dad...I know what I'm talking about. If you look at the rock face you can see the different layers that date the period. This use to be a sizable volcano a long time ago...maybe even before the dinosaurs..."  
  
Sparkplug gets frusterated and quickly brings his finger up to silence the boy, " Spike, shush! These men came to have a look at the thing not listen on and on to your theories. They're the experts, let them deal with this. "  
  
" But dad?! "  
  
Sparkplug raises his voice, " Stop! I said thats enough! Now go back down there and help Artie out with the drilling...Let these men deal with this ok? You're only here to do a job...your a driller, not a scientist."  
  
" Fine...", the angry son says back at his father, kicking the small rocks in frustration. He walks down the hill and doesn't look back.  
  
" Your son seems pretty smart..." the black man says to Sparkplug.  
  
" Yeah...he's pretty smart...and a good boy. But he wasn't cut out to stay in University; he was starting and dropping out of too many classes. Never finding a real subject he could be focused on.... and then he completely dropped out of school after his mother's...my wife's passing."  
  
The two men just stood there looking at Sparkplug thinking about it, and the lighter colored man just broke the silence, " I'm sorry to hear that. Well...Mr. ...ah I mean...Sparkplug. I think we're going to have to bring in some experienced experts on this, despite your son's guess work. If you don't mind I think we'll keep your men on a bit longer so you can help us out here and maybe uncover more of this thing, hm? "  
  
Sparkplug reluctantly nods in agreement, and then well-dressed man pulls out a small cellular phone from his coat pocket. Opening the mouth flap, he taps down on one of the buttons and holds the phone to his ear.  
  
" This is Agent Connors, we need a team up here A.S.A.P., this is a code six-one-five.... repeat a code six-one-five. That's right.... uh huh...that is confirmed. Oooh I say that this most definitely would categorize as...alien in origin. "  
  
As the two obvious government agents look back upon the ship stuck in sold rock, Spike looks back as he finishes walking to the bottom of the hill, and his face is full of anger at his father. Spike and his dad never really saw eye to eye after his mother died, her death began a lengthy rift between the two that never really healed. They still love each other, but in a friendly male bond sort of way, they never discuss their feelings or even show any sign of emotion to one another. Spike can still remember his mother lying in the hospital; dying of a deadly disease they call cancer. She fought long and hard to survive, but in the end there was nothing anyone could do to save her. Spike and Sparkplug could only watch her slowly diminish until she was gone; both lost something that day, a good wife, a loving mother and the only person that kept the family together. When Spike dropped out of University, his father told him that if he didn't attend school, then he would have to work for a living, no son of his would be living a life of unfocused direction. Spike had no choice but to work with his dad, it was either this or try and earn a living somewhere else. Having no money and no place to go, the choices became rather apparent. He didn't mind the work, in fact he was learning to do a lot of things, but deep down he wished for more adventure, something that would take him on an exciting journey and perhaps help him to focus on a goal in life. As the Agents studied the ship doors, Spike had a sinking feeling that these men were about to disturb something that shouldn't even be touched at all.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
As the dusk begins to turn the sky a darkened orange-red, the mountainside is filled with activity; helicopters swoop in and patrol the area as the military of this particular country of the United States creates a large fenced area a few miles away from the site. Now large spotlights are fixated on the exposed ship, which has now been cleared away of more mountain rock. The ship's hull now stretches upwards and soon shows a few of it's back engines, freshly exposed to the oxygen atmosphere thanks to Sparkplug and his drilling team. The few round back engines over hang the door that was seen before, and part of the back wing is exposed as well. It was just enough to see that the ship is actually larger within the rock then many had realized. This was no small ship they were trying to dig out, but rather a small back entrance that they've stumbled upon. The soldiers all walk about helping to clear away the rocky debris that the construction workers managed to break off, Spike stands near one of the military jeeps parked near by as he gets a full view of the awesome spectacle revealed to them at last. Sparkplug comes walking over to him and wipes the grimy, oily dirt off of his face and hands. Looking angry and even more frustrated then before, he rests himself on the front of the jeep as Spike continues to look up at the behemoth.  
  
" That's the military for you, swoop in and take over. Now we've been told to pack up and leave...damn it. You know we're going to lose our contract for this place? The company called and has pulled out of the deal, but the worst thing is that they won't even compensate us for it. Spike? Are you listening to me? "  
  
Spike looks down at him, " Like I care. "  
  
Sparkplug didn't like that tone of voice, " I beg your pardon? Listen all of us have lost a lot of money here today and your standing there gawking at this thing. "  
  
" That's right dad I am.... for god sakes, you don't even realize what this means, do you? We've just discovered alien technology...and you're worried about money? That is so like you...at least mom would find this fascinating...all you were concerned about was working and not about her health.... "  
  
Sparkplug looked offended at his remark, he reached over and gave his son a strike to the cheek with his hand, " Don't you dare assume I didn't care about your mother! What do you think? How were we supposed to pay her medical bills huh? You act as if your so above me, well I paid for your University education too mister...and you couldn't even finish that. This...Work...I do is what kept her alive for so long. It's what sent you to school, filled your mouth with food and put clothes on your damn back!! I loved my wife; I loved her so much that I worked my ass off to keep her alive!! So before you go judging me son...maybe you should examine your own situation. No focus...no goals...huh...Alien ships? Who gives a god damned rat's ass about that! Doesn't help the people of Earth trying to survive from one day to the next. "  
  
Spike holds his cheek from the pain, an almost tear-filled glare from him puts the father back into his sanity, realizing he's hit his son; Sparkplug backs down from him and moves away slowly. Spike is in shock from his father hitting him, not moving at all he continues to just stare without blinking. The father quickly collects himself and wipes his nose with the same cloth he just cleaned his hands with. All the years of working and having to watch his wife suffer finally have broken this once happy man. The pressure of losing the contract of work to the military has pushed him over the edge, not only does he not get paid a lot for his work here, but he'll end up losing his drilling company in the process. For this was the only major job that would have brought his business out of debt and helped to ease the financial burdens he's had to live with after his wife's passing.  
  
"I'm.... sorry, Spike. I.... I didn't mean.... damn it.... I'm gonna go take a walk. "  
  
The father begins to slowly walk down the hill and towards the new gates that lead out; down below in the distance of the open valley, a mass group of mobile homes sit in the darkness. Some have lights showing there are people occupying it at this moment; the workers have a temporary place to reside in as they prepare to let the military take over. Sparkplug turns around and looks at his scared son one last time.  
  
" I'll understand...if you don't come home tonight. I want you to know...I.... do love your mother. And you my boy.... I'm just sorry.... sorry...."  
  
That was all he could give out to his son, he knew it wasn't enough to apologize for what he did, but it's all he could openly send out to him. Turning back around towards the gates, he walked on out. Spike dropped down behind the jeep and wept, hiding his tears like all proud men do from others around him. He felt so bad for talking back to him, and even for the unkind words he spoke, how he wished his mother was still around to mend this situation. Spike had felt so lost in life, his father being distant, his mother dying and he not knowing what to be or career to set out in. This troubled young man was also at his breaking point, trying to hold back the tears as he controls his emotions, he stayed behind the jeep until he focus back on being whole again. The soldiers and government agents near the ship's massive doors were trying everything imaginable to cut through the metal. Shooting flames of blue and sparks flying, the cutting torches and diamond drills pieces had a hard time even making a scratch in the surface. One of the military soldiers watches as they work, a five-starred General of the U.S. forces, wearing the usual combat fatigues and looking very wise with his matured look.  
  
" Anything soldier? ", he asks the military kid below trying to cut through the metal.  
  
" Nothing sir, we've nearly tried just about everything here. This is a metal I've never seen in my life, hell if molten lava couldn't damage this thing too much.... I don't know what will. "  
  
Spike comes walking up, composed and calm now, he's heard the man complain and offers his advice, " How bout cold? Maybe some liquid nitrogen? Don't know any sort of metal that could withstand that stuff. "  
  
The General looks around to see the boy talking to him, " Son this is our concern...why don't you go back with the others to the trailers. Your job is over. "  
  
" Well pardon me General...", Spike says back, " But I do believe you muscled in on our discovery here, I don't see why I can't give a simple suggestion to help in finding out what's inside. You owe all of them and my dad for your special prize, since you won't pay them for their efforts... "  
  
The General adds in a comment, " We're going to pay them for their efforts, ok? But only for the time they've worked with us. You're beef is with the company that started the other project...not this one. "  
  
" I beg to differ. ", Spike says to him with contempt, " Anyways...most of the drilling team wants to find out what's inside this thing too, you could at least give them and me this small request for giving this all up to you. "  
  
The General sighs, " This isn't a finders keepers situation kid, we don't know what's inside or what it might do to anyone once it does get opened. Are you willing to take that risk? "  
  
Spike glares him down, " You bet your butt I am. And if you think your going to crack that metal with heat, you can forget it...this stuff survived extreme heat and lava, but I'll bet you any money that liquid cool nitrogen will at least get you further then you are now. "  
  
The soldier squatting below with the blow torch shrugs his shoulders and looks up at the General, " It's worth a shot sir, I mean heat doesn't do much...maybe liquid cold nitro will shatter some of it? "  
  
The hard looking military commander sighs, " Very well. Lieutenant Palaton, get some men up here with some Liquid Nitro...Pronto! "  
  
The men around him salute and all rush to get the chemicals he's barked for. Hours pass on into the night; the large tanker parked near the alien ship is full of the liquid nitrogen that was requested. The men aiming a large flexible tube at a spot on the large doors cause a hissing sound coming out of it. The nitrogen rushing out is causing the soft hiss sound, coating the metal in it's super cool fluid and the workers pound away breaking it off layer by layer. Going at it for so long, they seem to have begun making a hole into the super thick metal door, as they come to the end of whatever nitrogen they have left. Punching the last bit with drillers, they finally break through. A sudden rush of dusty air forces its way out of the ship, the pressure inside releasing outward as it becomes exposed to the Earth's atmosphere. Once the dust settles and the pressure drops, the men clean up the hole a bit more so that a person can go through it with minimal effort. The Agents walks up to the General and converse with him about their concerns.  
  
" Mr. Drakemore, Mr. Connors.... I know what you two are about to say, so spare me the lecture. ", the General says to them as they stand beside him.  
  
Agent Connors snickers, " Look we can't have civilians in that thing...too many men in there will contaminate the site. Besides word has come down to keep this top secret. "  
  
The General laughs, " A bit late for that sir...all these witnesses...hell I'm surprised you didn't shoot them all to keep it quiet. "  
  
The dark man, Agent Drakemore, turns his head at him, " Too many dead would lead to too many inquiries.... it would have been messy. But...it was an option for a while..."  
  
The General shakes his head, " Not much of an option in my books, shooting innocent U.S. civilians...what a world we live in. "  
  
" Look, bottom line is...we don't want too many people in there. How bout...just one civilian, that Spike kid, myself and two of your boys with weapons? That way we keep the contamination low, the soldiers can secure the place, and the drillers will be satisfied letting one of them in there to have a look. Sound good? "  
  
" What about the drilling crew? You think they'll stay silent? It's going to take a lot more then just having a quick peek inside this thing to keep them all quiet. ", The General says to Drakemore.  
  
" Fine...", Connors adds in, " We'll give them more money to shut them up, but only if they sign a document that they will in no way reveal to anyone what is in this mountain or any knowledge of discovering it in the first place. If they so much as talk...well...maximum jail sentences in a federal prison or the other option we discussed earlier will be the choices left to them. I think that should keep them very quiet...don't you think? "  
  
The General just shakes his head and snickers, " Whatever works is fine with me, but you and I both know that jail time will never be an option. I just hope you can live with the consequences of your actions."  
  
The men both smile and start walking over to Spike who's watching the soldiers widening the hole on the shuttle door. Connors turns around as he continues to walk backward up the hill towards the men and gives the commander his response.  
  
" Trust me General...We lived with it before, we can live with it again. It's just a job. "  
  
The army General didn't think much for that comment, he scowled at Connors as he continued to turn around and walk up to Spike. He could see the two men explaining the situation and the young kid agreeing without hesitation. Turning his back on the men chatting it up, he looks down at the small group of trailers down below, he can't help but feel a small bit of pity for these men who just don't realize what they've brought themselves into. News crews hadn't been alerted to this site yet, but there would always be a risk of someone spilling the news. A strict curfew had been placed on the campsite, making sure that none of the drillers could step out of the quarantined area and spread the gossip about this place. All communications where now monitored from the satellites above, no phones, emails, cellular calls or even C.B. radio signals would be allowed without a special encoder device. Both Agents of the Government and the top military soldiers had such a thing; it was standard issue for top-secret findings such as this. UFO (Unidentified Flying Objects) discoveries are rare for the Government; too many times they've had close calls with civilians exposing the truth. The Agents had promised everything to keep the men quiet, but deep in the General's mind, he knew these men would either have their memories erased, all killed with some elaborate story to cover their tracks or even threatened with blackmail just to silence them. There are no illusions about this, top secret is top secret, and the world has changed from innocent times. A war of secrets and lies now has become the norm; the twenty first century of this planet is full of fear and paranoia, interesting how human traits like those never truly go away. As Spike prepares to enter the ship, a quick glare from the General makes him realize this is a serious situation, the young boy is going to discover that danger and consequences come from every side. 


	3. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Three - Re-Awakening The War  
  
Spike, Agent Connors and two well-armed soldiers slowly make they're way through the opening made for them, the large door of the ship was thick and hard to penetrate. Thanks to Spike's advice, they managed to create a big enough hole for them to squeeze into; all of them are wearing white coveralls that are self contained, airtight pressure suits. The suits look more like lightweight space costumes astronauts wear to survive. The slow breathing sounds of each man can be heard as they step in, a steady pace of their taking in air and exhaling as they make they're way in. As all four men gather inside, they turn on their separate flashlights that are rather powerful enough to shine through the darkest corridor. Looking around they see just how big it is inside the ship.  
  
" Hoooly Crap! The people must be massive to walk around in here! ", Spike observes loudly while flashing his light down the long dark corridor.  
  
As Agent Connors enters in he spots Spike and the other soldiers gawking at the never-ending passage, " Ok cut the chatter! We're here to do a job. Spike, let private Gortez and Millar take point front, we don't know what we could be dealing with in here. "  
  
The two soldiers snap out of their amazement and nod to the Agent, they quickly move ahead of everyone and walk down the corridor with their guns pointed and flashlights peering into the darkness in front. Spike and Connors stay closely behind as they follow the men, Spike continues to look around and spots scorch marks all along the walls. He taps the Agent on the shoulder and points to the burn marks for the man to see.  
  
" Look at that...it looks like there was a lot of activity in here huh? "  
  
The Agent just looks at it with a deadpan gaze, " Weapons fire no doubt. These aliens might have been fighting to survive or escape. Probably lost their marbles from the heat.... trying to kill each other. "  
  
" Huh...that's thinking positive for ya? How can you be so sure that's what happened in here? "  
  
Connors just smirks, " Doesn't take much to go nuts kid, that's why our history is full of brutal savagery. Heat, cold, just slurping your coffee the wrong way...People go nuts for various reasons. "  
  
Spike rolls his eyes at the man, " Oh your just a joy you are. "  
  
The soldiers ahead stop dead in their tracks and yell to Connors behind them, " Sir! We've found something blocking the way! "  
  
The Agent points his light ahead of them and sees the massive object blocking the hallway, " Metal? Looks like.... a.... a leg or something. "  
  
They all point their lights at the object and discover that it is indeed a leg. A blue and sliver colored leg that seems to arch like a knee, as they walk around they discover an arm to match, a wide torso and then they see the head. Studying it carefully, Connors sees that it has only one uniformed yellow eye and where a mouth and nose should be there is only a manifold mouth guard covering it. This robot once was called Soundwave, but to them it's their first nameless discovery. Spike is in awe of the sheer size of the mechanical man, he watches the Agent touch the face of the being and suddenly backing off just to be cautious.  
  
" It's dead. Whatever it is. "  
  
" Its a giant robot ", Spike points out to him.  
  
" A dead robot then. ", the man snips back at the young kid.  
  
The two soldiers lower their weapons and look at the symbol on the chest plate of the robot. They notice how it's not the same as the one on the door, making them wonder what it all means. Tapping the body with their gun tips, they giggle and turn to show the Agent the symbol they've discovered.  
  
" Take a look at this, Sir. Another symbol...only this is different in design. ", The first solder says.  
  
The second soldier leans on the dead robot, " Yeah...and that one on the door was in red, this one has a purple color to it. What do you think? Words for ' Exit ' and ' Robot '? "  
  
Connors shakes his head in disagreement, " I sincerely doubt that's what it means. Chances are we won't know what it truly means seeing how we know nothing of their language...written or otherwise. Let's keep going until we get to the end, we'll turn back the minute our oxygen runs low. "  
  
The four of them continue to walk down the tunnel, the soldiers in front again as Spike and Connors follow up behind. As they continue to walk down the large corridor, they soon pass by more of these huge robots. Some look larger, some look about almost human height, all different in design and with two of the opposite symbols on their persons. The hallway is littered with these robot people; Spike is amazed at how many there are. Connors doesn't get distracted for a minute, he pushes them all on as the reach the end of the corridor. Spike can't help but get a bad feeling about all of what he sees, the scorch marks on the walls are also all over some of these being's bodies. Looking into the soulless eyes of the dead creatures makes him gulp with fright, what could have happened to all of them he wonders to himself. Madness? An explosion? But looking at the weapons clutched in their hands, Spike figures it must have been a massive battle. These bulky machines look designed for combat, they have large weapons and even a looked damaged from previous skirmishes. A ghost ship of robotic warriors long since deactivated, a chilling reminder to him that even in other worlds, war has its price. A sudden shriek of " Ah ha! " from Connors makes them all look at his light shining ahead, they had reached the end of the corridor and a pair of doors faced them. The doors where slightly open, thanks to one of the robots head sticking through it on the floor. The doors came from either side and looked stuck from the head getting in the way. This time Connors lead the way in, crawling over the robot's black helmeted head. Sideswipe it was once called, obviously shot down and frozen in time as he blocked the doors to the bridge.  
  
As they entered, the soldiers and Spike saw the room was massive, more robots lay all over the place and with looks of shock on their faces. Where Megatron once blasted out the top of the bridge room, a large rocky column now sticks down, lava hardened into rock has sealed the room airtight. Walking into the very large room, Connors is breath taken from the massive size of the computer tables.  
  
" Look at that...we can't even reach it! Amazing...a race of machines that use machines to guide them. This is going to be one hell of an operation for us. "  
  
Spike and the others walk around, looking at the robots frozen in time and powerless. That's when Spike flashes the light over his shoulder and sees the slivery evil face of Megatron, still scowling away and sitting propped up against the wall. The sight of the spooky gaze makes the kid scream in horror, he trips and falls causing his light to fling through the air and land someplace else. Connors and the soldier run up and see what his panic was about.  
  
" Hey kid you ok?! ", the one soldier asks him.  
  
"I...I was just...it scared me for a second that's all. "  
  
Connors looks up at the silvery giant, " Uhg.... Monstrous looking isn't he? Ok Spike, get on your feet and try to watch where you're stepping. I don't want to carry your heavy butt back with me ok? "  
  
Spike just gets up and dusts himself off, " Sure thing. Oh man...I dropped my light. "  
  
Connors pats him on the back, " Come on...I'll help ya look for it. "  
  
The two search around with the one remaining light source in Connor's hand, and as they spot the beaming light in the darkness they walk up to it and see that it is pointing upwards on one of the robot's lap. Like a heavenly signal of epic proportions, the light is fixed on the head of Optimus Prime. The massive Autobot leader sits in his command chair as the light shines on him, the force of the crash must have thrusted him back hard, so hard that it managed to land him into his chair in a sitting position. Spike can't help but be impressed with the way the robot looks, massive in size he was, but something about they way the robot's head was poised made him look almost noble. Connors climbed up on top of the motionless robot and reached up for the light, he too noticed how it made the robot look rather important and rather dramatic. It was a passing thought to him, who knows what these machines were, perhaps the lighting on them does no real justice at all.  
  
" Wow", Spike says still looking upon the Autobot leader, " He's awesome! Much more easy to look at then that silver giant over there. Do you think he could be the leader of them all? "  
  
Connors grabs the light and jumps back down, " Who knows.... who cares. Whatever they were they've long since passed, doesn't really matter who's who anymore. "  
  
Spike grabs the flashlight from the man's hand, " I guess not, but...I'd still like to know what happened on this ship. I mean...it looks to me as if there are two sides here, one group of robots have that purple emblem, and the other have that red one. Maybe they had mutiny or something..."  
  
Connors just laughed at the boy's wild theories, " yeah...right. That's what happened. Come on kid, there are a million different scenarios you could come up with and you still wouldn't know what happened really. Look...you've seen the place, your happy now...the workers will be happy now...we're all happy now! Got it? Now step aside, don't touch anything and let me get to work. "  
  
Spike nods and walks away from the Agent who zips open one of the pocket flaps on his breathing suit, taking out a small digital camera, he takes pictures of the various robots and inside control room. The other two soldiers wander around aimlessly and look at the other various robots littered all over the room. Many of the robots have lost limbs; some have had their heads blown off, probably from either the battle or impact of the crash. Spike takes his flashlight and walks over to the main computer. Staring at the sheer size of the thing, he wonders if he can climb up on top of it to look at the controls. Placing the light on the ground, he begins to reach up and place his hands in open slots along the computer. He begins to pick himself up as he makes a stead climb upward, straining himself and grunting as he continues, he tires to find a foot place so he doesn't slip back now. His left foot searches desperately for a place to set down, but as he finally locates a ledge to place it onto, the ledge begins to move. Unknown to him, he's stepped on a large switch that is slowly descending as his weight forces it downward. As the thing finally drops down completely, Spike lets out a worried scream as he falls to the floor. As he tries to deal with the pain, a large whooshing noise fills the room, everyone stops to hear it but soon the noise dies down. The two soldiers and Connors come running over to see what happened.  
  
" Spike!! You ok?! ", The first soldier says.  
  
" Damn Kid...what the hell did you do now? ", the second soldier blurts out.  
  
Connors comes running over and beams the light at the large switch Spike accidentally activated, he studies the lever carefully and then quickly turns to the fallen young man to chew him out again.  
  
" That's it!! I want you out of here kid! I told you not to touch anything..."  
  
Spike rises to his feet and holds his sore butt that he fell on, " I...I was only climbing up to have a better view. I'm sorry. "  
  
"Sorry?! ", Connors says in a freaked out tone, " You're Sorry?! Shit kid...you might have killed us all with your stupidity! That switch could have activated the self-destruct, electrified the room, pressurized the whole ship.... or god knows what else!! "  
  
" Chill out guy, it was a mistake ok? See nothing happened. It was probably just a vent opening up. ", Spike says to the screaming Agent.  
  
Connors was unimpressed by this kid's actions, it was bad enough he allowed this boy to come in with him, but now the young man is disturbing the site with his stupidity. The Agent paced around to calm down; once he was focused again he walked up to the three men again.  
  
" As of right now...You're hereby off limits to this vessel. If you step inside again, or divulge any knowledge of what was seen in here...I will have you sent to a federal prison where you will never see the light of day again! You got that? Private Gortez, please remove Mr. Witwicky from this ship immediately."  
  
Spike scowls at the Agent, " Wait!! All because of one stupid mistake? That's not fair! "  
  
Gortez puts his hand firmly on the young boy's shoulder and Connors looks at Spike dead on, " One mistake is all it takes Spike, fair or not...I can't have stupidity in a situation like this. Take him out of here. "  
  
Spike quickly swats off the soldier's hand on his shoulder, an angry look at the government agent is all that he gives, without any more fuss Spike and the soldier walk out of the room. Connors breathes a sigh of relief and looks around the room to see if anything did happen from Spike's mistake. Silence is all that can be heard, so he takes it as a sign that no harm was done. Looking back at the remaining soldier, Connor's picks up the flashlight Spike left behind and gives it to him.  
  
" Here...you and I will head on out too. We'll come back tomorrow morning and finish the search; in the meantime I want you and Gortez on guard duty tonight. I don't want that punk back in here at all...no one it is to enter without permission from me first. You got that? "  
  
The soldier salutes, " Yes sir. "  
  
The two remaining men walk out of the room and head for the outside, a few seconds after they leave a strange beeping can be heard from the ship's computer console. One of the buttons begins to flash on the computer and soon the large display screen boots up with static on it. Too far down the hallway to hear it, the soldier and Agent Connors continue down the dark corridor as they reach for the main outer doors. The computer continues to switch on, as many lights and buttons activate lighting the room up as much as it can. On the large viewer, cracked like a pane of glass, a massive red Autobot icon comes on and scrolls command codes all over in front of it. A booming voice now comes out of the awakening computer, a bit muffled at first, but soon becomes clear as it states out it's function.  
  
"Tel...Tela...Telatran One, Online. Beginning diagnostic...Error...Error....Malfunction....Re-routing to secondary systems. Systems now activated, beginning inner vessel scan...."  
  
The ship soon opens a large panel above and out of the top comes a massive device that sends out a large laser that fills the entire room. It does a couple of sweeps and then retracts back into the top with the panel covering it again.  
  
" Scan complete.... Unable to identify Autobot Leader...Error.... Secondary systems are damaged. Emergency reconstruction protocol activated.... Search and Repair priority one. Activating reconfiguration laser...search for target..."  
  
Another large panel opens up from above and a massive laser beam device unfolds and searches the room, it soon detects Megatron laying against the wall and points it's beam of light at him.  
  
" Target acquired...scanning...transformation cog damaged, new design required. Orbiting alien satellite detected, linking computer to satellite...begin search and download. "  
  
High above the Earth, one of many man made satellites hangs in space, soon it becomes overwhelmed with a strange signal sent from Telatran One, the squibbling and hissing of it's beaming messages causes it aim at others orbiting around the Earth as well. Almost in a spinning web of telecommunication, the signals all link up with one another and spread across the Earth, every computer, every digital system and every database on the planet is instantaneously downloaded and quickly sent back to Telatran One. The mass download causes confusion in every country and every owner of such a device, as if the technology has gone mad the flood of unexplained chaos. The Autobot supercomputer meanwhile, places all of the human information into its memory core and instantly selects the mode of disguise Megatron is to become as it scans the incoming data. The laser poised above him shoots, enveloping him in a glow of a faint blue as it transforms his body to the specifications. Molecular nanotech technology is widely used by Cybertronians, it gives them the ability to copy and change their shapes in order to make their transformations possible. It also gives them the ability to shrink their mass to a certain degree. If they are to become in disguise and need to almost look like the similar object they are trying to mimic, molecular nanites help to reconstruct their density to help in this process. As quickly as they can transform so too can the nanites rebuild them to their true size when going back into robotic form. An almost symbiosis happens because of this, since they have been developing this for millions of years, it's almost instinctive for nanites to instantly react to the Cybertronian's reactions. That being said, Telatran One has found the perfect technical object for Megatron's new form. The cog inside of him reconfigures and the nanites re-form his body into the new look. A reboot to his system gives him life again, now laying on the ground as a modern day sliver polished berretta eight millimeter gun, specially mounted with a laser eye piece and silencer attached. The sound of him moaning and transforming back into his robot form reveals his resizing back to his proper height. Megatron stretches out his arms and arches his back like an animal coming out of its hibernation. Telatran One stops the laser and lets it sit there waiting for the next instruction.  
  
" Target rebuilt.... awaiting next target.... please instruct...."  
  
Megatron's eyes glow a bright red as he stands there, "Uhhh.... I.... I live! "  
  
Looking around he sees the devastated ship, Autobots and Decepticons all laying in their deactivated states, "So Optimus...it seems that fate has awarded me a second chance. Now with all of your Autobots gone...I can at last finally rule Cybertron forever! With the help of Telatran One, I shall rebuild my Decepticons; the time for our empire is here at long last!! "  
  
The leader continues to laugh in an evil tone, the realization that Optimus Prime and the Autobots attempt to kill him had failed made him laugh with joy. Telatran One continued to ask for a new transformer to rebuild as it awaited instructions from the revived robot. 


	4. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Four - More Than Meets The Eye  
  
Spike stands near the silent drilling machines outside of the exposed mountainside, looking rather ticked off he waits leaning against the equipment that his co-workers can no longer use. It seems that everything his happening to him all at once today, the argument with his dad, the alien ship, the men losing their jobs because of the government and now the Agent threatening him. His discarded white oxygen suit lay beside him as he obviously took it off in a great furor, his angry eyes now shift to the small opening of the alien ship's doors as the Agent and the other soldier enter out of it. Agent Connors starts to remove his gear after walking a few meters away from the ship; looking up in Spike's direction he can see the young man isn't too happy with him. He looks back to the soldier taking off his white suit and nods back to him.  
  
" You know your instructions...make sure no one enters. No one! ", He says to the soldier as he motions his eyes towards Spike.  
  
The soldier finishes getting out of his gear and salutes, " YES SIR! "  
  
Young Spike knew what the men were talking about; having been chewed out by the government agent inside, he realized that Connors wouldn't even talk to him now. Even so, Spike walked up to the man and spoke his mind about the matter.  
  
" Listen Connors...I've had it with you. I don't need the likes of you yelling at me for one misplaced footing, just who in the hell do you think you are? First you take over the project here, then you stiff my dad and all the workers from getting paid, and now you want to keep this all a secret. You guys are all the same, cover up and deny everything. "  
  
Connors raises his hand to him and shouts back, " Enough Kid! I'm through explaining my actions to you. But just to ease your mind...this Government is the one that will pay you and your men for all their hard work. Ok? Hm?! So just back off right now! Just be glad you didn't do any real damage kid...its guys like you that tend to make things worst..."  
  
Spike stares at the man, " Just what the hell is that supposed to mean? "  
  
" I think you know exactly what I mean....", the man says back to him in a gruff tone, " Guys like you rush in and never think about the consequences, well boy, I and all the rest of us at the agency are the ones protecting your asses from getting into any trouble. Trust me kid, I've seen many things you best not know...nor even the world to find out, cause let me tell you...it would blow all your minds. "  
  
Connors said it so intensely that Spike had to back off a bit, his determined answer made him uncomfortable about what in fact this man did know about certain things they've kept quiet. He could only speculate on what that might be, but after seeing this ship and all the giant robots on it made him a believer of the agent's warning. Spike walked back to the construction vehicle he was leaning on earlier and sat inside the open door way of the machine. Connors picks up the white suit he's taken off and throws it back to the two soldiers, Gortez and Millar, now standing near by. He starts to head down the mountainside when all of a sudden his partner, Agent Drakemore, comes running up to him out of breathe.  
  
" Jack!! We've got a problem! The whole world went on the fritz.... communications, computers, everything just went haywire! "  
  
Connors looks confused, " What? Slow down...what are you going on about? "  
  
" You have to come down and look at this right now. It was like a flash of pure mayhem, nobody could figure out what the hell was going on. The General is waiting for you to explain all this...", the African American says to his colleague.  
  
Jack Connors was still trying to figure out what his buddy was telling him, but shaking his head he proceeded to follow him down quickly to the main camp base below the mountain. Unfortunately Spike didn't hear any of their conversation, for he had fallen back onto the seat of the open door driller and gone to sleep very quickly. It was a long day for him, he was up at the crack of dawn in the morning till the late hours of this night, it seems that sleep finally caught up with him. Both soldiers standing in front of the ship's doors paced around with their automatic machine guns ready for anything, they had forgotten that Spike was still there, and just casually chatted to each other as they kept watch outside. Deep inside the Autobot ship, Megatron continued to look around the bridge of the ship and saw the state of his troops. His body had changed only slightly from the reconfiguration; the large cylinder on his back now resembled the front part of his new gun transformation. The side arm cannon attached now looked like that of the black laser eyepiece that also is used in his new mode. It never really even occurred to him about this new transformation, too busy to care about it for now, he instead focused on rebuilding his fellow soldiers. The first one he dragged over from the floor was Starscream; he put the damaged robot in the path of Telatran's laser and gave the computer a command.  
  
" Telatran One...begin repair of this unit. "  
  
" Target acquired.... searching database for new transformation mode....", the computer said in a fizzling, broken mono-tone, " New design found.... beginning reconstruction. "  
  
Megatron smiled evilly, " One down...more to come! "  
  
Back outside down at the foot of the mountain, the campsite where all the military assembled, Connors and Drakemore walked into the main tent where General was. The old high ranking soldier was hunched over a large table full of maps of the U.S. and the Earth, not turning around to greet them, he simply acknowledged them as if he had seen them.  
  
" Welcome back Mr. Connors, Drakemore and I have been hip deep in chaos since you were gone. "  
  
Jack Connors was walked over to the other side of the table and looked down at the graying soldier, " Well...lets have it then? What's been going on? "  
  
" Well while you've been in there gazing at the aliens, it appears that something scrambled our communications and technology for a brief time. We couldn't get through on any phone lines, radio transmissions, or even work the damn computers for almost two minutes. And the creepy part is.... it all happened at precisely the same time around the globe.", the General says to him gazing up.  
  
Connors rubs his forehead and thinks, " Incredible...it could be a new super virus from those hackers maybe? What do you think Mike? "  
  
His eyes fix on Drakemore as he asks him on a personal level, Drakemore also gives a thought and answers back, " Well...it's possible. We've been having trouble with that group, especially their front man. But we know full well that Phoenix is being monitored, he hasn't attempted something like this for sometime though and his upcoming trial is keeping him occupied...."  
  
The General straightens up and looks over to the dark skinned agent, " Who the hell is Phoenix? "  
  
Connors answers the old soldier, " A hacker we've had some dealings with in the past, his real name is Chip Chase, just some kid who thinks he's the god of the internet. You know that time some of military secrets were leaking out? About Project N? You can thank him for that big mess. No...I can't see Chase being the one for this.... it would take a lot of programming and a hell of lot of extra help to pull a stunt off like this."  
  
Mike Drakemore added another suggestion, " How bout an Electromagnetic disturbance? A solar flare might do that sort of thing wouldn't it? "  
  
Connors thinks again and walks over to the other side of the tent, " No...Solar flares wouldn't be the cause...at least not the way you guys are describing it, satellites would be affected but...computers on Earth? And all at the same time? Not possible..."  
  
" Well what then? ", the gruff General starts saying in a frustrated tone, " If it wasn't a computer virus and it wasn't some electromagnetic interference...then what shut down the world for those few seconds? "  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Inside the Autobot ship, Megatron has revived many Decepticons, Starscream and his fellow air jets have now all been brought back to life and are helping to bring more of their kind into the path of the laser. On the floor sits a blue sliver digital recording device, a minidisk player with a top entry loader that has a tinted window. On that window sits the Decepticon symbol, it's surrounded in the blue light from the laser and as it stops glowing a transforming sound soon reveals the identity of this redesigned Decepticon. Enlarging to its true form, the robot called Soundwave is reborn again. A small round cylinder sits attached on his shoulder looking like a combo microphone/shoulder rocket launcher. A sleeker design for Soundwave, his features have slightly changed for the better but his head still looks the same as it always did. The one uniformed yellow eye glows as he sees his leader standing there greeting him.  
  
" Welcome back to the living Soundwave. I hope you are ready to serve me again my old friend. "  
  
" I am yours to command, mighty Megatron. ", the sleek looking minidisk centurion says in his monotone computerized voice.  
  
Megatron smiles, " Excellent. Transform and download as much as you can from Telatran One. I want to know every Autobot secret that's contained in it's memory banks, squeeze as much as you can out of this computer Soundwave. "  
  
The robot bows and raises his arm to his chest in salute, " As you Command. "  
  
Transforming back into the minidisk player, Soundwave lands on top of the computer console and a snake like wire with an adapter on the head of it reaches out and plugs into the universal port. The large viewing screen shows a small insert image of the Decepticon Symbol as Soundwave begins transferring the data to his memory circuits. Starscream finishes laying down another Decepticon in front of the laser and walks over to Megatron viewing the screen as Soundwave downloads.  
  
" Why don't you simply rip out Telatran One's memory core? Why bother to fill Soundwave up with all that nonsense? "  
  
Megatron scowls at the stupid questions, " Because you ninny, the core was made by the Autobots and probably full of safety features to prevent such a feat. We could very well hook it up and activate its self-destruct sequence! I won't risk that, best thing to do is having Soundwave copy the information, and decipher it later, we have to get back to Cybertron and finish the Autobots as soon as possible. "  
  
" But we have defeated the Autobots mighty Megatron! Look..." Starscream smiles and points over to Optimus Prime, who still sits lifeless in his chair, " Prime is dead! The Autobots back on Cybertron were destroyed by Shockwave before we took off...we have all the time in the universe to rip out the computer core, discover any of it's hidden booby traps and head back to Cybertron! "  
  
" Don't question me Starscream. When we left, Cybertron was still full of small pockets of Autobot rebels spread out across the planet, it's possible many still survive and are still a threat to our limited forces there. But we wouldn't have that problem if you didn't keep screwing up and wasting energon on your stupid strategies...I can't fathom why I even bothered to revive you, let alone reprogram you to be more obedient. ", The Leader says to him sternly.  
  
" You had your chance Megatron, but like always you overlooked the possibility...perhaps you were too much in a rush to think of it earlier, a sign of a weakness and incompetence for such a great leader of the Decepticons. ", the grayish winged robot laughs with a bit of sarcasm in it's tone.  
  
Megatron raises his fist at the disobedient robot, " It can still be preformed Starscream! Watch what you say to me carefully or else I'll have the others hold you down while I personally see to your lobotomy!! "  
  
Starscream gulps and recoils like the coward he is, " I...I was only kidding Megatron. You know I am a loyal Decepticon..."  
  
" Remember that Starscream.... see that you do remember that. ", Megatron says back to him.  
  
Another robot comes walking up to Megatron, this one looks exactly like Starscream only colored black with some purple added to a few of his limbs and markings on the jet wings sitting on his back.  
  
" Where the hell are we Megatron? Last thing I remember is blasting away the Autobots and us crashing into that large volcano on the planet. "  
  
Megatron turns to look at him, " We'll soon find out Skywarp, as soon as the men are repaired and Soundwave has finished downloading the information...we'll all step out to have a look. "  
  
Skywarp smiles, " Good...I need to stretch my wings for awhile to test out this new transformation mode. Seems a bit primitive in design, hopefully it can withstand my teleportation and breakneck speeds. "  
  
Thundercracker comes walking into the conversation, still looking very much similar to both Starscream and Skywarp, but in his full light blue color and red markings, " I hear ya Skywarp. I'm just itching to spread my wings and test out all my weapons. Who knows what this Autobot computer has done to us...."  
  
Laughing at Thundercracker's comment, Skywarp add in his extra thought, " Yeah...we could end up with a set of shoddy wheels! Too bad Jetplague isn't around; I'd would have liked to challenged him to a one on one. "  
  
Megatron didn't flinch to Skywarp's comment about Jetplague, to him it was a matter of the past and not very important to even mention. But he did hear enough of the two jet's banter to make him sick of hearing about their flying woes, he simply walked away from them and continued to watch his other soldier being brought back to life. Starscream wasn't interested in Skywarp and Thundercracker's petty chat either; he walked over to Optimus Prime and looked directly into the Autobot leader's face.  
  
" Nice of you to die Optimus Prime, but I would have preferred to kill you myself. One shot of my null ray and you would have fallen to your knees begging me for mercy. ", Starscream says to the motionless robot.  
  
Thundercracker and Skywarp overheard Starscream's comment to the dead leader; they snickered at the jet commander's wishful thinking.  
  
" HA! If anything you'd be the one doing the begging Starscream...Prime would have made you his cyber-bitch! ", Thundercracker says to him giggling.  
  
Starscream quickly turned to face him and fired a shot from his arm null ray cannon, " Daaaahhh!!! "  
  
The shot streaked over past him as the two jets ducted out of the way. Starscream brought his null ray cannon back over to Optimus Prime's head and glared at him, " I would have killed him!! I, Starscream would have defeated Optimus Prime.... and then I, not Megatron, would have been the leader of the Decepticons. One day...one day I SHALL be the leader. Just you two wait and see...."  
  
Starscream laughs in crazed manner and brings his arm cannon up to the ceiling shooting it off repeatedly. The flashing glare of his blasts reflects off of Optimus Prime like an omen of things to come.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Spike slumbers away in the construction vehicle, a sound sleeper he doesn't even hear the crunching of the two soldiers feet on the rocky ground as they pace back and forth. The two army guards keep a vigil eye as they pass by one another, but like many on duty together, they tended to talk to break the boredom. Gortez took out a cigarette and used his special silver polished lighter, in haling the smoke he had a look of satisfaction. Millar turned around to see the man smoking on duty and shook his head.  
  
" Come on man...that crap will kill ya. I thought you were supposed to be off of cigs? "  
  
Gortez looked over his shoulder and shrugged, " We all got to die some day man...might as well have the things that make ya feel good for now. Besides, it's getting a little tense around here, alien robots, this Connors dude riding our backs..."  
  
Millar just laughs, " I hear that. Man is so tight he could crack a walnut from his ass...feel sorry for Spike kid, talk about getting screwed over huh? "  
  
" Ah...the kid messed up. Those agents love to toot their own horn when things go wrong, but you do have admit, that was some stupid mistake the boy made.... who knows what he could have turned on in there.", Gortez just laughs at his own words and thinks of something else funny, " hey...hey...we could have been fried by a big disco ball or something...you know.... doo dee dooo de doo doo..."  
  
The sight of his buddy doing the " robot " dance made Millar howl with laughter, the two laughed on as a sudden sound of something powering up hummed over their joy. Both men stood still for a second and their laughter died down as they heard the high-pitched noise. All of a sudden Millar looked down on the ground and could feel the ground shaking, the sound of clanging metal and heavy thumps made them both aware that it was coming from inside the alien craft. As they fully turned to look at the ship, they noticed the door symbol was glowing bright red and all around the door a strange light illuminated it in an eerie way. The sound of heavy thumps and clanging were getting louder and louder, Gortez looked at Millar and threw down his lit cigarette to the ground. Scrambling to ready their weapons, the poised the automatic machine guns at the door waiting for whatever was about to come out.  
  
Down at the bottom of the mountainside, in the General's tent, both Agents were still trying to figure out what the cause for the worldwide black out was. The General was talking on the phone and Connors and Drakemore were quietly chatting with one another. A young soldier enters the tent and walks over to the agents; saluting them both he lets them know why he's there.  
  
" Sir! I have foreman Witwicky out here requesting to speak with you. "  
  
Both Agents casually salute back which makes the young private relax his arm back to his side.  
  
" What does he want private? ", Connors asks him.  
  
" Sir...he wants to know if you've seen his son. He had heard you went into the ship together and he's wondering if he's still inside.... he never came back to the campgrounds. "  
  
Connors looks concerned and a sudden rush of thought strikes him, " No I haven't seen.......wait.....oh god! "  
  
He turns his head at Drakemore and finishes his alarming realization, " The kid.... he touched something in the ship! It was a large switch or something...but he activated it! "  
  
At the same time they were just realizing this, the two soldier guarding the space ship suddenly saw the doors slide open quickly, a bright light shone in their eyes and they had to shield themselves from the sudden brightness. The sound had woken Spike up from his sleep, rising up from the drivers' seat he also became blinded by the powerful illumination coming out of the doors. But as they all lowered their arms they saw a group of large robots stepping out of the vessel. Spike was in sheer awe of the creatures walking about; it looked more like a sci fi movie coming to life right before his very eyes. The two soldiers guarding it didn't notice just how fast one of the robotic feet were coming at them, before either one could fire off their weapon, Starscream's jet engine-like foot came stomping down and crushed private Gortez to death. Millar screamed out in terror at the sight of his buddy being stepped on, the shriek caused Megatron to pause beside Starscream and look down at the small human. Starscream could hear the fleshy crunch of the man under his foot, and lifted it up a bit to have a look.  
  
" Ewww...I stepped on something. "  
  
" You merely stepped on a bug Starscream...just scrape it off. ", Megatron calmly states.  
  
The remaining soldier below them opens fire with his weapon; the bullets bounce and pop off of them as if they didn't even exist. Megatron was mildly annoyed by the small man shooting at them, and reached down with his large hand and picked him up...very hard. Millar could feel every bone in his body breaking; he couldn't help but cry out in absolute pain. Megatron's grip was tight to this small fragile man, but to the Decepticon leader it wasn't more then a light fist closing. Spike witnessed the whole thing down below, his awe and wonder soon turned into fear and shock. The sight of such horrible violence made him sit still with fright, his gaze followed the Decepticon leader's hand as he brought the soldier up to his eye level. Megatron inspected the being carefully and saw that this was no simple bug.  
  
" A bi-pedal homo sapient species? And such a fragile creature as well..."  
  
Starscream was using a large boulder to scrape off the remains of the one he stepped on, " Yes...very fragile. Such soft and brittle structures, clearly not as superior to us. "  
  
"If this is what awaits us on this planet, then I see no need to worry. ", the leader says.  
  
The soldier who is in extreme pain in Megatron's clutches, soon realizes that mere smirk on the being's face isn't one he thinks has sealed his fate. With one super tight grip, Megatron finishes the puny human to a gooey finale. Once again, Spike looks on in sheer terror, blood was everywhere and the last crush the giant robot gave ended up jutting out the poor man's head onto the vehicle's hood that Spike was sitting in. He coward below the dashboard as the robots all laughed the sight of their leader squashing the poor man, Spike closed his eyes tightly and whispered gently to himself.  
  
" No, no, no....not me...don't come for me.... please pass me by...please, please, please.... Mother help me, don't let them hurt me...."  
  
The Decepticons hadn't seen young Spike at all; in fact they didn't really care what was around them. Megatron turned to his evil horde of robots and commanded them.  
  
" Decepticons...to the air! Let's try and see what this planet has to offer us in the way of energy. Long live the Empire! "  
  
The others all chanted after him, " Long live Megatron! "  
  
As they continued to chant the praise over and over, they all began to rise off the ground and hovered towards the dawning sky. Megatron hovered above them all and saw that Starscream was still on the ground and facing the ships opening.  
  
" Get a move on Starscream...the ship isn't going anywhere. "  
  
Starscream pointed his two side arm null ray cannons and continuously fired upon the inside of the ship.  
  
" I just want to say one last goodbye to the Autobots..."  
  
" Forget the Autobots, Optimus Prime and his scrap heap comrades are now ancient history! ", the Leader says laughing in his usual melodramatic evil tone.  
  
Starscream looks up and sees the others flying off into the distance, he looks back into the ship and smirks. He stretches out his arm and a panel on the side of his forearm opens up to reveal a small stubby rocket.  
  
" Goodbye Optimus Prime...thanks for the ride. It looks like the Decepticons are going to rule for a long, long time! "  
  
Laughing away, the air commander launches his small missile and transforms into his F-19 stealth jet mode. As the missile propels away down the corridor of the ship, the jet commander quickly joins his fellow Decepticons in the sky. The missile inside continues to fly down the deep corridor; it ricochets off the top and lower walls until it comes crashing right behind Optimus Prime's chair in the bridge. The explosion hurls the big red robot on to the floor and the shockwave makes the repair laser turn and activate on the Autobot leader. Smoldering from the fiery attack, the blue light soon surrounds Prime and begins the transformation.  
  
" T-T-Target aqu-aquired...Beginning repair and redesign. Alert.... alert.... circuits have been damaged, switching the third primary backup systems. Systems now repaired...Target has been identified, Optimus Prime is priority one for repair. Searching Database for transformation......design found. Repair and reconstruction beginning...."  
  
As Telatran One rebuilds, Optimus Prime's eyes begin to flash a bright blue and the sound of his voice can be heard as he starts to come around.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Back outside the ship again, running up the hillside of the mountain towards the vessel, the two agents and most of the army personnel come rushing up to see what happened. Also running up quickly is Sparkplug, he is constantly calling for his son but is drown out from the sound of the soldiers yelling and barking orders to one another. Spike slowly gets out of the vehicle he was stuck in and looks bewildered by all that's just happened. As he looks around, the blood on the ground and the boulder Starscream used to scrape off the other soldier with are all that remain of the two men guarding the ship. How does one take this all in? Shock and a ghostly pale completion is all Spike has right now. Turning to see the soldiers running up towards him, they're movements to him are slow and dream-like, even his father who suddenly grabs hold of him and tries to shake him out of the stupor he's in right now. The military is all over the place; sounds start to take shape in the young boy's head again, Helicopters rising up, jeeps honking horns and even Agent Connor's voice peering into his skull as he snaps out of it.  
  
"Jesus Christ kid! What the hell did you just start?!"  
  
Sparkplug held the boy's face in his hands as he tried to bring him around, "Spike? Spike, son.... are you ok? Come on, snap out of it my boy!"  
  
"D-d-dad? Oh Dad! They...they crushed them...they killed them right in front of me!!" Spike says frantically.  
  
Connors grabs Sparkplug and pushes him aside, and then he grabs Spike and begins to shake him, "Damnit! I told you not to touch anything! Now look what you've done you brat!! "  
  
Sparkplug backhands the man in the face, causing him to un-grip his son, "Don't you ever...EVER...Lay a hand on my boy! It's your fault for letting him go in there in the first place Connors!! So just lay off my son! If you so much as touch him again...I'll make sure you won't be able to chew solid food ever again!! "  
  
"Just try it pops! My men will have your ass in two seconds before you can lay in the first punch."  
  
Sparkplug clenched his fist in anger, itching just to strike the son of a bitch down, but as he held himself back from doing so, Spike looked over at the agent and flattened him right on the chin. Connors fell back hard and was stunned as he hit the ground, Spike stood over the man with his fist still ready to give him another.  
  
"Yeah...but I bet your men weren't prepared for that! You wanna blame me for all this? Then go ahead, just leave me and my dad alone you bastard!"  
  
Connors shakes his head and holds his jaw from the pain, "That's fine with me kid. Consider yourselves under arrest.... it will be a cold day in hell before you see the light of day ever again!"  
  
Spike and Sparkplug didn't like the sound of that; they knew they were in deep trouble for attacking him and for getting in the way of his plans. This guy was blaming them for everything and they knew there was nothing they could do to stop him. As Connors got up ready to order them under custody, Drakemore came running over to him.  
  
"Jack! Come on! We've got to catch a helicopter and follow those things, they're moving fast and we'll lose them if we don't go right now..."  
  
The sore jawed agent just straightened his tie, fixed his hair and pointed his index finger at the two Witwicky men, "This isn't over, you two are going to have to answer for all this and I'm going to make sure you get the maximum sentence possible."  
  
"Kiss my ass you son of a...", Spike says to the man looking like he's about to hit him again, but Sparkplug quickly grabs hold of his fist and shakes his head at his son as if to say it wouldn't help matters.  
  
Connors turns around and runs down to the awaiting choppers at the foot of the mountain. Leaving only a skeleton group of soldiers behind, the military moves to pursue the alien robots. The choppers all begin to lift off and beam their spotlights into the dawning sky, The General, Drakemore and Connors all look out the window as they fly over head the mountain, the General eases back into his seat and looks at the two men.  
  
"You do realize this is up to us now? If we can't stop these creatures...well...god help us all."  
  
Drakemore smirks, "Why do all the military do-gooders say that? I hate that cheese fed line!"  
  
Connors keeps his eye on Spike and Sparkplug down below and then looks up at the General as they fly out of sight of them all, "Don't worry General, we've got just the weapon to put them in their place if the moment comes. Trust us."  
  
The General didn't seem to like that, these well dressed men working for secret levels of the government always made him suspicious of their plans, hearing Connors say such a thing re-affirmed that belief. What sort of weapon do they have? How could they possibly know what could stop these creatures? So many questions rose in his mind, but he dare not ask them, men that ask too many questions often disappear. Putting on the headset behind him, the General talked to the pilot through the microphone attached to it.  
  
"Get me HQ on the horn...I want a squad of jets to be ready just in case..."  
  
As Spike and Sparkplug watch the helicopters and vehicles disappear in the distance, the remaining soldiers try to keep the workers from coming up the mountain to see what the trouble is about. It's a handful trying to keep them all back, so the soldiers all form a line and slowly walk them all back down. Sparkplug holds his son's shoulder and grips it reaffirmingly, a simple look between the two of them gives a sign that all is forgiven. It doesn't take words for them to express they're feelings, a look is all it takes to show their deep father and son bond, they both smile and give each other a good long hug.  
  
"Thanks Dad, sorry for being such a screw up."  
  
Sparkplug pats him on the back and releases him, "You're not a screw up son. I am.... and I'm sorry I hit ya. I'm just glad someone managed to hit that S.O.B. "  
  
Both laughed at the memorable moment and gave mocking punches in the air as they tried to show each other how it looked. Sparkplug could here his men getting out of control at the bottom of the mountain, told his son to wait where he was while he runs off to calm them down. Watching his dad scurry off down made him smile a bit, the tender moment they had was the most significant the two shared in years, perhaps this was the beginning of a whole new relationship with his estranged father. But Spike began to feel uneasy again; the smile quickly diminished off of his face as he felt someone was watching him. He was still standing close to the ship, but a he noticed the light coming from the ship had dimmed a bit, he slowly looked over towards the ship and soon realized that the light wasn't dimmed, but rather a large shadow was cast over him. As he fully turned his head to see, there stood a massive figure in the doorway, another giant robot in red and blue, with it's glowing light blue eyes looking down at him.  
  
"No...." Spike said softly as if he new his fate was sealed, "Don't...Don't Kill me!"  
  
Spike's voice had now risen, loud enough for the towering creature to hear. It looked at the boy rather curiously and tried to assure him he would do no such thing.  
  
"I'm...not going to kill you. Please, don't be afraid...I realize I must look strange to you, but please do not fear me." The robotic sounding calm voice says to him.  
  
"Who..." Spike nervously asks the robot, "Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Optimus Prime...and I come in peace."  
  
Spike stands there dumbfounded, this large robot is talking to him instead of crushing him under his foot. Unsure how to feel about it, he continues to stare at the giant. He's more impressed on how he managed to sneek up without causing a sound for such a large robot. Blinking uncontrolably, Spike manages to sink in the words Prime uttered to him.  
  
"You...You come in peace? More like here to kill us all....to crush our bodies! Peace? More like to rip us apart in pieces! "  
  
Optimus Prime is taken back by the creature's tone, "No...no not at all. I...I..."  
  
Suddenly from below the mountain, Sparkplug turns to see the massive robot standing in front of his kid. His eyes grow wide with panic and shouts to the others about it. They all stop shouting and struggling with one another to see the alien, the soldier realize this is a new threat and rush to the top with their guns blazing. The bullets wizz by Spike and Optimus Prime, as they both turn to see the horde of men rushing towards them. Spike is trying not to be hit by the bullets the soldiers are pouring out, but can't find anywhere to run too, if he does move he's sure to be hit by one of them. Optimus Prime sees that the young human is in peril and brings his hand down to sheild him from the attack. Sparkplug suddenly realizes what the robot is doing, at first he thought he was going to flatten his poor son, but seeing the hand stretch out like a metal wall for the boy made him aware that this is no monster. The hand was large and looked like it could crush a vehicle like a compactor, but there was an almost gentle nature to how he lower his hand down to his son, like a human hand shielding a frightened bird. He was calling out to the soldier to hold their fire, but it made no impact, these soldiers where given direct instructions to stop these metal beings. Optimus Prime waited as they continued to empty their guns at him, small metal fragments hitting him was no big deal, he seemed more concerned about them hurting each other while in the heat of battle.  
  
" Please, hold your fire! I mean you no harm! ", the loud metallic being said to the rampaging soldiers.  
  
Soon the guns silenced down, some from hearing him say so and other just because they ran out of ammo. They couldn't believe this strange alien being was speaking to them in their language, nor for the fact that he was begging them to stop shoot at him. As they all stopped shooting at him, he took his hand away from Spike, who was completely unharmed from the firing. The leader stood tall facing them, they must have seemed like ants to the large robot, the men just tilted their heads back and stared at the gentle being. Prime slowly raised his hands up in an attempt to show he was not hostile.  
  
"I mean none of you any harm. Forgive me if I startled you or caused fear...I'm only here to offer my hand in peace. My name is Optimus Prime, I am the leader of my people."  
  
Spike looks up at Optimus and tries to make sence of it all, "Then you must have ordered your men to kill...cause there was a large group of metal beings such as yourself that didn't want peace. They killed two innocent men and treated us like common bugs!"  
  
The large red robot looks down at Spike, "I gave no such order, my men still lay inside deactivated and are unable to....Wait....What did this metal being look like, if I may ask?"  
  
"He was sliver, with red glowing eyes, and a large black...well...it looked like a giant cannon on his arm or something."  
  
Optimus Prime's eyes flared, the blue flash in them showed he knew that description, "Megatron!"  
  
Sparkplug came up beside Spike, he gave his son a quick hug thanking god he was ok, but then stared up at the robot as he asked a question, "What the heck is a Megatron?"  
  
Prime was still looking away deep in thought, "Not a what...more like an unfeeling evil monster! I guess I didn't notice he wasn't still laying there in the bridge, I was disoriented when I woke up...This is indeed grave. If he tries to get back to Cybertron we're all finished."  
  
Spike, Sparkplug and the others wondered what the hell he was babbling on about. Clearly this gentle being wasn't the same as the one Spike encountered, it seemed this one was more concerned about the welfare of the people surrounding him and not of his own person. But the mention of the name of Megatron seems to have given him an angry look, something that every person with a grudge against another would make. Optimus Prime looked about at all the humans, their faces showed him the niavity of this primitave culture, unaware of what they have unleashed to their own world. Looking up into the heavens, the Autobot leader gazed at the fading stars as the sun began to peer over the mountainous region. One yellow sun, one moon, clearly not the same place they crashed into what seemed like not too long ago to him.  
  
"The stars are different, strange...what is this place? Is this planet in the system of Alaxon?"  
  
"Uhm...no. We don't have a real name for our solar system, we just call it SOL for short. But the planet your on is called, Earth", Spike says back, "Third planet from the sun, I guess....perhaps we should start to explain how we found you. And how long you've been buried under all that."  
  
Prime looks back down at him and his eyes squint slightly, "Perhaps you should. But if it's all the same, I need to repair my men, if Megatron did escape...you're kind is going to need our help."  
  
Spike's eyes give a worried look, "You make it sound like he's unstoppable or something? You don't think our military can handle him?"  
  
Optimus Prime nods, "You must trust me on this one, Megatron and his Decepticon soldiers will unleash a terrbile evil on your planet. They're desperate for energy and will go to any length to getting it, no matter what is in their way. Your weapons will have little effect on his armor, my Autobot warriors and I have the only weapons capable of harming them."  
  
Spike gulps in fear, "Man, I guess we really will need your help then huh?"  
  
Sparkplug smiles, "Ok if thats the case then Optimus Prime... My name is Sparkplug and this is my son Spike. And if you need help getting your boys back in action...then you've met the right bunch of human species."  
  
Sparkplug glances over to the rest of the workers and soldiers still standing there in amazement, " Ok boys! You heard the man...oh pardon me....Robot. Let's get him and his crew back together! Because my wife once told me, a friend in need is a friend indeed. Let's give our new friends a hand then huh? Move out!"  
  
As all the workers hear their boss's words, they smile and shout with jubulence. They all scramble into the ship taking their tools and some of the vehicles inside. Optimus Prime is glad to see he's met the right sort of beings, they seem like a good group to befriend and he walks inside to show them the way. One of the commanding soldiers walks over to Sparkplug looking rather concerned.  
  
"Wait a minute! We haven't been given the authority to do this? It could be a trap....or they could be decieving us....or...or.."  
  
Sparkplug laughs, "Save it soldier. This is the time to show what it means to be human, that we're not always bent on shooting at whatever lands in our yards, that our generousity and friendship is our greatest gift to share. True, they could very well be having us on here, they could very well turn on us the second we repair them....but something tells me in my gut that this...this guy here is alright. But some times, we all have to open our eyes....not every creature in the universe is bent on conquest."  
  
Sparkplug walks towards the ship and helps the others load up the equipment, meanwhile the commanding soldier he was speaking too walked over to a group of his own commanding officers. They could see he wasn't happy with what was happening and voiced his concern.  
  
"Damn fools! They're going to get themselves killed. I don't like any of this, first they come out to crush us, now they want make friends?!"  
  
One of the soldiers in front of him speaks, "I think we should call the General about this, we don't have enough soldiers here to take on both the robots and the workers. Plus many of the men have said they'd like to help out as well..."  
  
The commander nods, "Right, Baxter get on the wire and call the General let him know exactly what's going on here. Jim, you and Frankie will supervise the men that want to go in and help out. Keep a sharp eye and report anything that might give us concern about these giant robots. You all got that? "  
  
The men all agree and the commander nods back, "Ok then...go to it men."  
  
Breaking up into smaller groups, a few head down towards the campsite to call the General, the others lead the soldiers in to help out. The commander still stands outside and waits for word from either group, he thinks about what Sparkplug had said to him and mutters on to himself.  
  
"Not every creature in the universe is bent on conquest? Huh...ya right. Last famous words before the crap hits the fan." 


	5. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Four – The Decepticons New Mission  
  
Out beyond the mountianous region, standing on a platau over looking a large valley, Megatron and the other Decepticons gaze the world as the sun shines an orange filled cloudy sky, morning has finally come. Megatron looks lost in thought, while the Decepticons behind him look around and notice how organic the planet seems. Starscream steps up beside Megatron as does Soundwave. Staring at the sky, Starscream speaks to his leader, causing him to break from his concentration.  
  
"One sun....and one moon? This is not the same planet we came too...is it?", the irratating voiced air commander asks his leadter.  
  
"The stars are much different then I remember them. I don't recognize anything from our star charts. Soundwave search the data extracted from Telatran One and explain this."  
  
The blue colored soldier nods, as his yellow eye flashes at the command given, "As you command Megatron. Searching data....Searching.....Searching...."  
  
While Soundwave looks for the data in his memory chips, the smaller Decepticon called Rumble walks over to Megatron and points out to the human settlement below.  
  
"Look Megatron! More of those creatures! Man they seem to be all over this place...."  
  
Megatron looks down at the mini Decepticon, "Who cares! They're no threat to us, if those weapons they used back at the ship are all they have at their disposal, then this world is ours to do with as we see fit!"  
  
Soundwave finishes his research and gives his leader a rundown on what has happened, "I have completed the search. It has been nearly over one hundred million years since our collision, this planet has evloved since that time and spawned the main speices of this world called the Human race."  
  
"One hundred million years huh....", the leader contimplates, "Much time has passed my Deceptions, no wonder the stars don't seem familiar to us anymore."  
  
Starscream looks at Megatron, "Does that mean Cybertron no longer exsists?"  
  
"No...it must exsist. Shockwave would have found a way to keep our kind energized, he's a loyal Decepticon and one that I could always count on to wait for my return."  
  
Starscream shakes his head, "Impossible Megatron...our energy supplies were dangerously low when we left, it's very possible that Cybertron burned out long ago...even your precious soldier Shockwave!"  
  
"If that is the case....then we are all that remains of a once proud and mighty Empire.", Megatron says with remorse, "Curse those Autobots for doing this to us!! Perhaps now that they are all gone, the time to return to our home world is fortuitous, we can go back and rebuild the Decepticons back to their former glory....a new age for Cybertron!"  
  
The others had heard their leader's words and cheered about the possiblity of going home to begin the Decepticon rule. But as they all rejoiced, Soundwave detected something on his internal scanners and looked out at the sky. Megatron saw Soundwave perk up a bit and knew the communications officer had heard something.  
  
"What is it Soundwave? What do you hear?"  
  
"Airborne crafts are approaching at rapid speed.", Soundwave says in the monotone synthizied voice.  
  
As Megatron gazes out, he has trouble seeing what lays beyond the horizon, he looks back at his group of warriors, "Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp! Transform and investigate...."  
  
All three bow at his command and transform, Starscream transforms into his grey toned F-19 stealth jet mode, Thundercracker transforms into his F-18 blue angel mode, and Skywarp transforms into the black F-22 Raptor. Together they all blast off straight into the sky and put on their thrusters to speed up to the target. Starscream takes point lead and moves slighty ahead of his fellow air armada. Inside his cockpit, all the normal instruments and design of the human built make up of that model are seen. The monitor sitting in the middle of the dashboard shows that the Decepticon is locking on to their position, a quick flip of the screen soon shows a zoom in of the objects in question. It's the military helicopters carrying the General and his troops. Inside of them, the General and the two agents soon are soon informed by the helicopter pilot of something heading their way.  
  
" Sir! We've got three un-identified aircrafts heading our way."  
  
The General gets up from his seat in the back of the helicopter and leans into the cockpit to have a look, "It might be the air support I called in...give them a shout on the radio."  
  
"I did sir...but I'm getting no response back.", the pilot says.  
  
The General looks confused, "No...wait a second. They can't be the air support, I just called for them only four minutes ago and the air base isn't even near here....then... who the hell are they?"  
  
The Decepticon jets go screaming past the helicopters causing a major wind tunnel in their wake, the choppers all struggle to keep airborne and balance out from the aftermath. Starscream and the other turn around to make for another pass, he contacts Megatron and reports on what they've discovered.  
  
"Starscream to Megatron...Come in Megatron"  
  
"Megatron here, report Starsceam...", the leader's voice responds back to them.  
  
"It appears these humans have the technology to fly. They have strange, primitave looking vehicles that are armed with those inferior weapons again. Perhaps that is were Telatran One aquired our new bodies from..."  
  
Skywarp flying behind him booms out his voice, " Ugh...what a disgusting thought. To think we have them to thank for our new transformations."  
  
Thundercracker also gives his opinion, "You mean we're stuck with these forms? Great...I'm beginning to hate this planet already."  
  
Megatron laughs, "Foolish flesh creatures, they dare challenge us in the skies? Starscream, teach them a lesson in flying."  
  
The leader's evil laughter makes Starscream and the other jets laugh as well.  
  
"As you command Mighty Megatron! Alright guys...lets give them a more proper hello...Bwahahahahaha!!!"  
  
Inside the helicopter, the pilot warns the old commander again, " Sir, they're coming round for another pass!"  
  
"Damnit I want to speak to those pilots! Just who the hell is flying those things anyway?"  
  
The agents look at one another and Connors makes a wild guess, "The aliens! I'll bet you they took control of some of our aircrafts and pitted them against us!"  
  
The General looks back with doubt, "Stop your stupid guess work Connors, it's done nothing to help us so far."  
  
Connors shouts back at him, "Hey anytime you want to relieve yourself from command is fine with me General, I'll gladly take over this whole operation from you! So back off old timer..."  
  
The pilot interrupted all of their conversations by screaming back at them, "Here they come!!"  
  
Starscream rushes in first and does air stunts around the small helicopters causing them to shift about and lose control, next is Thundercracker and Skywarp, they rush in and just narrowly graze the crafts as they come streaking by. One of the helicopters looses total control and crashes to the ground in a fiery explosion. The rest return to normal and try to fly down lower to the ground in an attempt to give the jets a harder time to start it up again. The General, cursing up a storm, gets hold of his head set again and radios in to the air base.  
  
"This is Alpha leader calling Air Base One....where are my damn Fighters?!"  
  
A crackled message comes over his head set as someone responds to his distress, "This is Red Eagle One to Alpha Leader...have no fear the calvery is here."  
  
Coming in from the distance is a group of five fighter jets, the lead jet has the marking of a red eagle on the side of his cockpit and the pilot inside sees the three attacking jets on his monitors.  
  
"Red Eagle One to all fighters, lets take'm down y'all"  
  
They all dive down to attack the Decepticon jets, but Starscream sees them and laughs with joy, "Terrific!! Thundercracker! Skywarp! They've sent us our target practice!! ATTAAAACCCK!!!"  
  
Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp slam into over burn and zoom straight for the on-coming jets piloted by the humans. Starscreams weapons on either side of his wings, usually sitting attached to his arms when transformed, now lock themselves on the lead jet and fire a rapid burst of his null rays at it. Unprepared for the barrage of devastating impacts from the weapon, the pilot screams a blood curling scream as each of the hits destroy pieces of his jet fighter. With one last shot from the Decepticon air commander, the human jet explodes in a fiery ball of flame, as the debris scatters across the sky and defecting off of the other jets now scrambling to get out of the way. Starscream laughs in triumph as he streaks through the area where the jet once was, but then Thundercracker comes racing by and follows two human jets trying to shake him off their trail. The blue Decepticon F-18 rolls around in the air behind them, an almost taunting gesture, and then fires his two side missiles that were attached to his wings. The two human pilots barrel rolled, dived and did every maneuver in the book to out do the missiles that were inching up to them, but they couldn't seem to lose them no matter what they did. Before either one of them could eject, the missiles struck them and exploded both jets on impact. Thundercracker rolled and flew back down to where Starscream was cruising.  
  
"This is fun! Nothing beats my Heat Seeking missiles! Those humans never stood a chance...hey...where's Skywarp? "  
  
The last two human pilots flying away in their jets where making a break back to base, suddenly they could hear a loud voice coming over their communication radio.  
  
"Where ya going? This party ain't over yet..." Skywarp's sarcastic voice said to them.  
  
A few laser shots came raining down on top of the jets, as the humans looked up they saw the black F-22 Raptor coming down on top of them. The two swerved to get out of his path, but as he came past them the jet began to vanish from their sight as they looked at it.  
  
"Now you see me..." Skywarp said in a playful mood, " Now you don't!"  
  
The Decepticon had indeed vanished into thin air, as if a cloak of invisibility suddenly was draped over him, A whooshing sound came off of him when it happened, for a few seconds it looked as if he had blurred almost as if he was increasing his speed. As the pilots looked around frantically, they didn't notice how close they were to one another, still they whipped their heads around as they stared out the cockpit window. They struggled to see where the jet was, then Skywarp's voice boomed out again at them.  
  
"Comin' Through!!"  
  
The pilots looked straight ahead and saw the Decepticon F-22 come streaking out as he materialized directly in their flight path, the human pilots freaked out as they saw Skywarp fully coming into view and on a direct collision course with them. Just as Skywarp looks as if he's about to crash into them both, the once again blurs and vanishes into thin air. But the humans panicked as it occurred, which made them crash into one another as they both tried to move out of the way. The planes exploded and debris once again littered the sky. The wreckage spilt down to the ground and impacted on the surface, fire and smoke billowed out of it as the rest of the fuel began to burn. As Starscream and Thundercracker flew overhead, Skywarp came streaking out to be seen again and flew beside the two of them. The black sleek Decepticon jet was chuckling as he pulled up.  
  
"Humans are the dumbest creatures I've ever encountered. Megatron is right...this world is going to be a pushover!"  
  
Starscream continued to laugh in an irritating tone, "Time to head back to Megatron boys! We're done teaching them not to mess with us."  
  
The evil jets all cranked their boosters and headed back to their leader, the three of them laughing and doing incredible aerial stunts as they vanished off into the distance. On the ground, the General and the remaining helicopters sat out of sight, the survivors looked on as they all realized the aliens were going to be tougher to stop then they thought. The two agents also looked on, Connors looked at his buddy Drakemore and he in turn looked back with the same deadpan stare. The sound of a cell phone flipping open and a dial tone ringing could be heard, Connors had it in his hand and raised it up to his head.  
  
"This is Agent Connors, tell Area 51 to prepare the weapon...oh and have the Project N leader contacted. I don't care if he's busy in the arctic; just tell him get down here right away. We're going to need his help on this as well...Tell him that the sleeping giants are awake..."  
  
The General looks back as he over hears the agent's call, the look of deep concern on his face doesn't even faze the agents as they see him gazing in their direction.  
  
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Inside the Ark, the repair laser is still hard at work bringing the Autobots to life, while the humans help drag in the rest that were scattered down the hallway. Ironhide, Prowl, Wheeljack and Hound all check to see their limbs are in working order. They stand there watching the humans help bring in the rest of their friends, Wheeljack looks more interested then the rest of them, eyeing the species very carefully. Ironhide huddles over to Hound and Prowl and whispers to them.  
  
"What are these things? They look kinda weird and funny looking..."  
  
Prowl whispers back as he continues to look over, "Maybe Optimus adopted them as our new pets or something?"  
  
"Not likely Prowl", Hound snickers, "I know Prime, he'd never take any alien life and make them slaves...face it guys, these our new allies."  
  
"Allies?? Them?! Don't make me laugh Hound." Ironhide now says raising his voice, " They don't even look like they could withstand a strong wind."  
  
Suddenly Cliffjumper comes running over to them, " Hey fellas! Long time no transform huh? Hahaha!"  
  
"Cliffjumper you lil' titanium hardnosed scrapper, good to see ya back in the land of the living!" Prowl says to him.  
  
"Hey Prowl, I hear these humans found us...and the Decepticons too! Apparently they're the ones that let them loose."  
  
Ironhide grumbles, "What? Why those idiots! Now how are we supposed to win the war with that lot running around again? Stupid humans..."  
  
Some of the men stop to look at the metal giant, his words where loud enough to ring out to most of the bridge; the human workers looked offended by Ironhide's comment and tried to work away from him. Optimus Prime came over and stood right in front of the insulting robot.  
  
"Ironhide, I wish you would keep your opinions to yourself. These humans have much to be thanked for by us..."  
  
The cranky red robot soldier just chuckled at Optimus, "Thankful? For what? They let out the Decepticons Optimus! Megatron and his goons are gonna stop at nothing to get back home...hell, we don't have enough energon to fight them boys again full on. It would have been more fitting to leave us where we were before...at least then Megatron would be gone from Cybertron for good."  
  
Prime shook his head and folded his arms together, "Ironhide...it would have made little difference if Megatron was dead or not. Someone would always be there to replace him and keep the battle going. I'll agree that these humans made a terrible mistake opening up this ship and freeing the Decepticons, but they couldn't have known what was in here, nor could they have realized the impact of what they had done. I've told them enough for now, they seem pretty willing to help us get back on our feet, but don't underestimate these humans...like every intelligent creature in the universe, there always two sides to their nature."  
  
Wheeljack looks over at the leader, "Tell me Prime, where are we? Telatran One isn't giving out too much information right now, I think Ratchet and I need to over haul its systems."  
  
"When the rest of the Autobots are repaired, I'll give a full briefing...but for now I'll tell you this, we're on the same planet we tried to get the energy core from and it's been some time since we crashed here."  
  
Hound looks at Optimus, "How do these humans know our language? Or how do we know theirs? Can't just be a coincidence."  
  
Wheeljack lifts his finger up, "I'll field this one.... you see Telatran One must have downloaded the human information network and deciphered the linguistic communication, as we were being repaired some of the language files must have imprinted onto our brain functions. They have a wide variety of dialects on this planet, but this one form called, English, must be the most common form of language to speak. Telatran must have figured we would need to communicate with this form of life and given us the necessary skills to do so. You follow?"  
  
Hound scratches his head, "Uhm...yeah.... sure."  
  
Ironhide raises his hand up to Wheeljack as he sees the robot ready to continue his theory, "Stop. He gets it...No need for you to explain it any further. I know you...if he doesn't give you yes or no, you'll yap on until we're all bored to death. We speaky they lang-ish, Ok?!"  
  
Wheeljack looks a bit taken back by Ironhide's harsh response and shrugs his shoulders. It is true that if Wheeljack doesn't hear a straightforward answer, he'll continue to talk on and on about the subject until that person does understand. Wheeljack loves science and technology, so much so that he can often get lost in his work or even his own theories. Many can tolerate his never ending rambles, like Optimus Prime, but many others believe that Wheeljack only does it because he likes the sound of his own voice. So rather then explain the rest, Wheeljack walks away from Ironhide and the others continuing to study the humans walking around. Optimus Prime looks at Ironhide in a stance of disapproval of his actions; a deep look with folded arms and a slightly closed eye on the right.  
  
"I know, I know..." Ironhide says backing down, " Control that temper. Sorry Prime, I'm just frustrated that's all."  
  
Prime reaches over and pats him on the shoulder, "We all are Ironhide...Just learn to cool it down a shade for the sake of the others, hm?"  
  
On the far side of the room, down near the bridge's exit, Spike stays out of the way and watches the others work. He feels guilty for being the one that let those evil robots out and killing the two guards. Even though it was only an accident, he can't help but realize if it hadn't been for him, none of this would be happening at all. Sparkplug comes walking over to him and grips his son's shoulder in comfort.  
  
"You know, when I heard that you dropped out of university.... I was so mad. I kept hoping you'd be the one to go on and do great things, my dad never gave me that chance, he wanted me to get a real job and not pursue hopeless dreams. I guess I was hard on you, I know your mother would have told me so..."  
  
Spike giggled, "Yeah, mom would have...but she would have ripped into me as well. It's funny, but when I did leave I could almost hear her say, ' don't throw away your whole life because of me! '. I miss her dad."  
  
Sparkplug's lip quivers a bit and tries not to show his tears, overcome by his emotions he rubs his son's shoulder, "I do too, son. But...I want you to know that I'm not angry at you anymore, seeing all of this...the ship, the aliens...it would have been something your mother would have looked on as you have. Amazement and wonder, with so many possibilities.... now I see what I've been missing for so long, it makes me realize that life is too short and it is full of surprises. If we don't cherish the time we have together day by day...those...wonderful surprises could end. And I don't want them to end.... ok? Give us a hug son."  
  
The two share a loving father and son embrace, Spike had waited so long to hear his father say those kind words, it was almost like a miracle to the both them. A few sniffles from their noses and they pulled away from one another, the father cleared his throat and started composed himself again.  
  
"Ok...uhm...Bill over there needs some help lifting that...whatever it is...and I'm going to go check to see if the aliens need any minor repairs."  
  
Spike nods and also comes back into focus, " Right...right...ok."  
  
The father walks off and Spike turns around to go find Bill, but as soon as he turns a fairly tall yellow robot stands behind him. This one wasn't as large as the other Autobots hanging around; in fact it was almost half the size of the others. A large red Autobot symbol was sitting on the robot's yellow chest and his head had small horns protruding out from on top. The bright blue-eyed robot looked down at him curiously and spoke to the startled boy.  
  
" Wow, are you humans always that emotional?", the young sounding robot said.  
  
"Uh...not all the time. Who are you?"  
  
The yellow Autobot smiled and shook Spike's hand as gentle as he could, "The name's Bumblebee, I'm...ah...just a junior officer, but I can put up fight like another Autobot here."  
  
"Bumblebee? I thought that was a human name for an insect?"  
  
Bumblebee put his arm around the back of his head and rubbed it in embarrassment, "A well...you see, there is another insect in the galaxy that has a name similar to you pronunciation. The fellas kind of gave me the name because I stepped in a nest of them one time and well.... the name stuck."  
  
"Really.... so you've traveled to other worlds before?", Spike asks him curiously.  
  
"Well, before the war we did...there was lots of energon before those days."  
  
Spike squinted his eyes, not understanding what he meant, "Energon? What the heck is that?"  
  
Across the room Optimus could hear what the two were talking about, like a scolding father Prime gave a warning to the young Autobot.  
  
"Bumblebee...."  
  
The yellow transformer turned his head and saw the leader shaking his head not him not to utter another word about it. Bumblebee's eyes squinted and he turned back to Spike with a nervous grin on his face, he mildly chuckled and tried to change the subject.  
  
"Aaaaah oh hey! Wanna see what I can do?"  
  
The yellow creature began transforming in front of Spike, the sound of it could be heard as he folded and contorted into his new form. It looked like current model of the Volkswagen Beetle, the interior was all leather inside or simulated at least, and the dashboard looked like something out of the future. The standard steering wheel remained, but more monitors and computerized components filled the dash. Spike was amazed by the transformation, never had he seen anything like it before, not that he sees thing transforming before his eyes on a daily basis. The other men working near by also stopped in amazement, Sparkplug's mouth hung open as this robot turned into a car in front of his son. Spike's eye lit up with excitement.  
  
"Cooool!!"  
  
"Are you cold?" the yellow bug car asks.  
  
"Huh? Oh, no, no...ahaha.... it's a human expression. It's what we say when something is amazing to us or fun."  
  
The Beetle revs up his engine, "Ooooh I get it. Cool!"  
  
Optimus Prime walks over to the little Volkswagen, "Bumblebee I told you not to transform...you could have scared the humans doing that!"  
  
" Come on Prime...I can't stay in robot form forever. Besides...they think I'm cool! Hey Spike, you wanna go for a ride?"  
  
Bumblebee's driver door pops open on its own and Spike again is amazed by that small fact. He looks over at his father and gives him a look as if to say, " Can I?". Sparkplug thinks about what the military would do if they let him go, but figured they were in deep enough...so why not go all the way. He reluctantly nods in agreement.  
  
"Just don't go too far...we don't know what will happen outside the area."  
  
Optimus Prime agrees with Sparkplug's suggestion, "Alright...you can go, but just like this human said Bumblebee, not too far."  
  
Spike hops into the car and takes a seat, suddenly a large seatbelt harness slaps across his body as the door closes.  
  
"Sorry about the restraints, I don't come with a Gravity Interlocking Motion Device." Bumblebee says to Spike.  
  
"No biggie Bumblebee, neither do humans."  
  
The yellow Volkswagen screeches its tires and zips right out of the room as high-speed, Spike gasps for air as the little bug car dodges and narrowly misses people, objects and debris. As soon as they get to the doors, the car flies out and lands hard on the ground outside. Bumblebee continues to speed down the mountainside and right past the military checkpoint. The guards sitting in the checkpoint room snap out of their boredom and rush out to stop the car, but as they look beyond the road, all they can see is the backside and a large trail of dust behind it. Spike and Bumblebee laugh out loud and both let out a youthful scream of freedom. As the car below races along the dirt road, high above a group of beaten and smoldering helicopters come back towards the spacecraft site. Inside the main helicopter, the General, agents Drakemore and Connors all look out and see the yellow vehicle speeding along. Connors whips out a pair of binoculars and sees the Autobot icon sitting on the top of the car's roof. Gritting his teeth hard, he lowers the binoculars and starts yelling at the General.  
  
"Damnit! There's more of those things coming out of it...we've got to contain this thing."  
  
The General was too busy listening into his headset, he was having a conversation with one of the men on the ground as he and the others were approaching.  
  
"What?! Are you crazy? I don't care if you didn't have enough men to hold them off...no one was supposed to go in there! You met whom? Listen.... no shut up...I said Listen.... come to the helipad and talk to me there once we've landed. I want a full briefing and then you and your men are going to reassemble in two hours."  
  
The General paused as he continued to listen to whomever he was speaking too on the ground, his eyes shifted over to the agents as they both gazed out of the helicopter with a look of amazement. As the General looked over to see what they were looking at, he uttered his last words to the soldier below.  
  
"You've got two hours Lieutenant, tell the men... and then pray to God, because we're about to go to war!"  
  
Taking off the headset from himself, he could finally see what the two agents were looking at. Down below on the ground, just near the spaceship, stood a bunch of Autobots looking around. The General and Drakemore had never seen what they looked like before, they noticed the massive Optimus Prime come walking out and were rendered speechless. Prime watched the helicopters fly by and land on a small patch of dirt next to the mountain; he noticed the considerable damage on their primitive machines and instinctively knew they had come into contact with the Decepticons. It would seem that the civil war between the Decepticons and Autobots has now restarted, with the humans caught in the middle of it all.  
  
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Returning back to Megatron and the other Decepticons, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker transform as soon as they reach them. They touch down near the leader and discuss how the encounter went.  
  
"Report Starscream." Megatron commands.  
  
Starscream smirks, "Better then we could ever hope for mighty Megatron. The humans are no threat to us what so ever, it appears they lack the sufficient weapons to even dent our metal."  
  
Skywarp adds to the conversation, "Yeah, I had no problem taking those wimpy jets of theirs out of the sky. My teleportation was a waste of time on those things."  
  
"Good, then the human threat isn't even worth our attention." The sliver polished leader says, "That human settlement down below over there seems perfect for us to begin..."  
  
"Begin what Megatron?" Thundercracker says in his lumbering voice.  
  
Megatron points down to the small town below the cliff they're all standing on, "Begin building our ship to get back home moron! Down there is the perfect spot...nothing around for miles and enough resources for us to start construction."  
  
Rumble, the small mini-robot looks down at the sleepy community that's totally unaware of their presence, "You've got to be kidding! There isn't enough steel and materials to even make the ship."  
  
The leader looks down at his small soldier and flashes his red evil eyes at him, "Be silent! I meant we need to clear out the area to begin, all of buildings and asphalt the humans have will be enough to make the base. Then we'll go out and rip out as much metal from this planet we need to make our ship!"  
  
The small robot flinched as his leader scolded him, Rumble took a few steps back as he recoiled away from Megatron and stood by Soundwave's side again as if to seek his protection. Beside the towering mini-disk player robot was another mini-bot, similar to Rumble in every aspect of design. Frenzy was the clone of Rumble; the only way to tell them apart was that Frenzy is red and black, while Rumble is the pale purple and blue. The red and black version of him laughed and pointed at him.  
  
"Ha, ha...Megatron totally ripped in to you! "  
  
"Dah...shaddup!" Rumble shouted back at his laughing doppelganger.  
  
Megatron controlled his anger and looked at the two micro creatures, "Now if there are no more stupid remarks to be made.... Rumble, you and Frenzy fly down and shake up the foundation. Soundwave launch Laserbeak and Ravage to survey the area...I want no more interruptions from these human dolts."  
  
"As you command Megatron!", the blue robot's voice harmonized in it's resonating tone, " Laserbeak! Ravage! Eject...Operation, Surveillance."  
  
He then pressed a button on top of his chest, a built in grey push button that made a quick whooshing noise as he touched it. As it made the sound, his clear plated chest opened up and ejected two flat mini-disks, both looking equal in size. As they came out, each disk transformed and revealed their true forms. Laserbeak, now looking more like a machine made Earth hawk, screeched and flapped its wings as they unfurled. Ravage, a black and grey colored Earth style panther, landed to the ground on all fours and growled away as its tail calmly swung behind him. The two quickly left the area and began their spying from both the ground and the air. Megatron looked proud of his two most loyal spies, the only ones that seemed to know their place under his command. Rumble and Frenzy both quickly jumped off the cliffside and flew down to the small town below; their arms began a quick transformation, from regular arms that had hands to large shoulder attached pile drivers. Both robots were capable of this transformation; they were the pile-driving duo that shook many Autobots from their combined talents. Looking back at the rest of his menacing evil warriors, Megatron walked over to them all as they stood around casually.  
  
"Now Deceptions...together we shall drain this planet dry of it's resources, we shall conquer all who dare stand in our way...but first...we will rebuild our ship and prepare to return to our home world. The time for our destiny is at hand! "  
  
The cheers from all of them made the leader smile, the sound of them chanting his name proudly gave him an ego boost he felt he needed. Starscream turned away while the others praised the leader, he didn't think Megatron deserved this shameless self-morale booster, a passing streak of jealousy that the air commander seemed to dwell on. Megatron rose to the air and hovered over them.  
  
"Forward Decepticons! Let us begin the slaughter!!"  
  
They all transformed and rushed down the cliff, the town was about to get the rudest awakening they'd ever known. 


	6. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Six – The Calm Before The Storm  
  
Racing down through the dirt roads of the mountainous countryside, Bumblebee and Spike continued to drive down towards the main highway well beyond the quarantined area. The struggling motor and sounds of the yellow car's tires spinning in the dirt soon evened out as he came on the black asphalt highway.  
  
"Aaaawwww yeah, much better...that was killing my shock absorbers!"  
  
Spike looked worried as he realized where they were, " Uh, Bumblebee.... I don't think we should go down this highway...I mean.... remember what Prime and my dad said..."  
  
"Oh come on Spike! Live a little...besides my tires need to feel something smooth for a change. Optimus Prime won't know.... and neither will your dad.... we just won't tell them is all. Just a few minutes on this paved road...pleeeaaase?"  
  
Spike shook his head and smiled, "Oh alright you rascal. Who am I to argue anyway...I'm not even driving!"  
  
It really did strike the young man as hilarity, his hands weren't on the wheel and yet the car was steering in all the right directions. What some people wouldn't have give to be in his shoes right now, alien robots, cars that drive themselves, it was like a wonderful fantasy come to life. The yellow beetle drove down the smooth black road, the heat steaming off of it as the sun baked away on it's surface, it was a very warm day out in the valley to be sure. Spike folded his arms behind his head and leaned back in his drivers seat. Bumblebee turned on his air conditioner and began fiddling with the radio.  
  
"Hey what are all these signals coming in? Sounds like you're airwaves are cluttered with them all."  
  
Spike laughed, "That's our music stations...humans use the radio to listen to all sorts of things, but music is what we usually tend to put on when were driving."  
  
"Oh.... Cool!", Bumblebee says.  
  
Flipping through the various stations, he stops on each one as Spike listens, some where classical, some were nothing but talk or bible chat, but the one he came on was more of the current music being played. Spike finally heard a song he loved and shouted out to the robot to keep it there. The tune blasted away inside as they speeded along the road, Spike bobbed his head to the melody and closed his eyes as he listened. As he began opening them again, he could see someone walking along the hot roadside. He perked up in his seat and alerted his new robotic friend.  
  
"Slow down Bumblebee...there's someone out here!"  
  
"Huh...Oh right.... let me turn down this music..."  
  
Spike looked closer through the windshield, "It... It looks like.... a.... a woman?"  
  
His eyes did not lie; it was in fact a woman, an average sized woman walking down the road. She was wearing a white baseball cap turned backward, a cream colored shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of shorts that matched. The shirt underneath was a light blue and a gold- chained necklace hung around her neck as it slightly glared from the sun hitting it. Her legs, face and arms all seemed wet with perspiration, the hot sun and walking along the hot ground caused her to pant deeply. She looked more like an out of place explorer to Spike, but as they got closer and closer, he could definitely make out her lovely figure. She looked back at them as they came up the road; it was hard not to spot them, as they were the only car around for miles. The long outstretch of road looked like it went on forever, not a place of shade for thousands of miles, Spike was always a Good Samaritan and decided to give this poor woman a lift.  
  
"Bumblebee we have to give her a ride...this sun will kill her out here."  
  
"I dunno Spike...we might get into trouble if we linger to long from the ship."  
  
Spike tapped the dash of the car, "Who told me to live a little, huh? Just don't say a word and everything will be alright...oh and I'll have to look like I'm driving so give me control."  
  
Bumblebee sighed, "Oh...alright. Just don't crash me or anything. I just know she's going to soil my new interior...trust me to get the wet ones."  
  
Spike helms control of the wheel as they slow down and pull up beside the woman. Spike lowers the passenger side window and smiles to the woman bending down to look inside.  
  
"Hey there..." he says to her, "You need a ride somewhere?"  
  
The woman bending down leans on the car, Spike now sees she's a young woman almost about his age and giving him a big white teeth grin. Her eyes where hidden from the fashionable sunglasses she was wearing, and a small streak of sun blocking cream was on her nose cheeks.  
  
"Oh thank you! I didn't think I would make it out of this area alive if you hadn't stopped!"  
  
Spike nodded, "No prob. Get in before you burn to a crisp."  
  
She opened the door and sat inside, once closing the door, she took off her sunglasses and removed her baseball hat. As she looked over smiling, Spike could see she had the most amazing hazel eyes; she had shoulder length golden blond hair and the face of a beauty queen. Needless to say she mesmerized him, he sat there speechless as she told him where she wanted to go.  
  
"If it's not too much trouble...could you drop me off at the next town? I'll be able to phone for a ride or catch a bus.... or something."  
  
Spikes eyebrows raised as he tried to speak, " Uh...oh...yeah, sure.... right.... no...No problem."  
  
Bumblebee was helpless to this all taking place; he revved his engine at Spike so he would wake out of his daze from looking at her. Spike snapped out of it and began to drive off down the road again; he quickly regained his cool nature and questioned her.  
  
"So...how did you end up out here? I mean I don't think there's a bus route or anything..."  
  
She giggled a bit, taking out a water bottle from her shorts pocket and taking a quick sip from it, " My car broke down a few miles back, talk about the worst places for it to happen.... thank goodness I had my water with me. And then I realized I forgot my cell phone back in California...so..."  
  
"Oh a Cali-girl huh? "  
  
She smiled a bit, "Yeah...but I'm a bit of an outcast. My folks live on the beach, but I'm not much of a surfer girl. Oh how rude of me, we didn't even introduce ourselves! My mom always harps on me for not showing my manners..."  
  
"Oh yeah that's right...ha-ha...my dad would say the same thing. Anyways, I'm Spike Witwitcky...."  
  
"Hello...", shaking his hand as he presents it to her, "...I'm Carly Jenkins"  
  
Spike smiles back at her and returns his hands to the wheel to drive, "Are you a student out here for the summer or something?"  
  
"Oh no...no...I've a...actually graduated along time ago. I've done the whole PhD. and whatnot...."  
  
"What's your PhD. in?", he asks her curiously.  
  
She takes another sip of her water, "Mathematics and Science, I'm a brainy girl you might say...that's why I never became the beach bum, I was too busy hitting the books. What about you?"  
  
"Oh ah.... actually.... I never really.... finished.", he says to her in an embarrassed tone.  
  
She squints at him, "Oh...are you taking time from University to study up for yours?"  
  
Rather then give a straight answer and making himself to look like a complete idiot, he simply agrees with her, "Uhh...yeah...something like that. Actually I'm helping out my dad for the time being...earning some extra money...stuff like that"  
  
He wasn't sure if she'd buy that, a smart girl like her, now he really did feel nervous. She simply gave a satisfied nod in understanding and took another sip from her water bottle. Looking much more cooler and relaxed, she eased back into the seat as she enjoyed the ride.  
  
"Oh I see.... That's nice of you to help out your dad. Well I hope you don't stay out too long.... cause it can be hell trying to get back into the swing of things. Do you mind if I rest for a bit? I'm tired from the long walk I did."  
  
Spike tenses up a bit, he's not sure if that was a snub to stop talking to him or if she's being sincere. But he soon realizes that it was rather hot out, and it was a long walk she did. But still, what's a girl like her doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Something that even Bumblebee was wondering as he had to stay silent and listen to all this. On the electronic speedometer, Bumblebee communicated with Spike. It read:  
  
ASK HER WHAT SHE'S REALLY DOING OUT HERE AGAIN, THIS FEMALE SOUNDS LIKE SHE'S NOT JUST OUT HERE FOR A CASUAL STROLL.  
  
Spike looks down and reads the message, he nods carefully and looks over at Carly laying her head back, "This is a long way for someone to be out here, what are you really doing this far out?"  
  
Carly's eyes pop open at his question, "Uhm...Just doing some research...."  
  
Young Witwicky gives a curious look as if he doesn't believe it, "But I thought you said you were done University?"  
  
Carly gulps nervously, but looking at this young man that practically rescued her from the desert sun she confesses her real reason, "Ok...I Lied. I know your going to laugh at me or freak out about what I'm about to say next.... but...."  
  
Spike takes his eyes off of his focused driving as he looks over and straight into her eyes as they meet, She puckers her lips and continues her confession, ".... I'm.... I'm a...oh damnit...I'm a men in black chaser. "  
  
Spike looked even more confused by her answer, "Your a what?!!"  
  
"Sorry...that's the term many seem to give me. I track down all the positions of the mysterious men in black...you know...government secret agents. The guys that hide all the information, UFOs, cover up all the conspiracies.... places like Area 51 and all that sort.", Carly says laying it all out for him to hear.  
  
Spike would have been rather freaked out about picking up some nut ball like this, yammering on and on about aliens and conspiracies, but having gone through it all and her being so beautiful, it didn't trouble him in the least. Still, Bumblebee put large question marks on his electronic speedometer as he too heard her blurt it out. Spike simply tapped the dash as if to tell Bumblebee to cut it out. She looked drained, either from having to confess it or being out in the sun all day. Spike took pity on her situation and wanted to know more.  
  
"Doesn't sound so weird to me. But I can't see this being your real job, I mean come on...tracking down secret government agents?? Why do you do this?"  
  
The blond haired woman sighs, "No this isn't my full time job. My parents don't even know I do this...I lost my job a few months ago because of this obsession I have. I dunno...when I was a little girl, I read all the hype and mystery about this shadow government...hiding alien artifacts and building secret weapons. I told myself that one day I'd go out and track these guys down and discover the truth. After I finished University, I got a cushy job in some marketing firm, but I found it dull and a waste of my talents. So I thought, what the hell. I'll go out and being my dream of studying these guys down and being the first to expose them for all the world to see. Two years later and I'm still looking, I calculated every place they've been.... looked for any weird reports or even odd military placements. I could have sworn I was close...."  
  
As she pauses, she finally notices the interior of the car, the dashboard is very futuristic looking, and in fact to her it looks very odd. Studying the inside of the car and looking over at Spike, she sees his outfit is dirty and not at all like someone who could afford a car like this. It seems strange to her she didn't notice it right away, but with trying to get cool again and being grateful someone was around to give her a lift, the moment sort of made her over look it at the time. Her mother use to always tell her not to hitchhike, cause she was afraid her daughter would be 'ravaged' by some maniac, Carly was never one to listen, she had her own mind and could fairly sum up a person rather quickly. Spike looked innocent to her, a workingman obviously, but his eyes gave away a young wisdom she could almost relate too. Still, this was too expensive a car for the likes of him to be driving and some of the electronics in the car looked way too advanced for any human to make.  
  
"This is a strange car to be driving? How the hell can you afford a fine vehicle like this?"  
  
Spike nervously gulped and giggled a bit, "Oh ah...My father owns a construction company and well...I'm an only child. I guess I'm rather spoiled."  
  
The woman wasn't buying it, "Uh huh...so all this fancy equipment is something you picked out and put in the car huh?"  
  
"Uhm...yeah...sure. Hey, I like a cool updated look to my cars...uh.... it drives the chicks mad.", Spike says trying to throw her off.  
  
"Chicks?", She said with an angry tone, "I'm no chick buster! And I can tell you right now; if this is how you go about trying to impress women then you're a sad little man. You know what you look like to me? Someone that's hiding something and too chicken shit to cough it up!"  
  
Spike gulped again, but didn't like where this conversation was going, now she was becoming angry at his comment and beginning to realize there was more to him then meets the eye. She stared right at him with those hazel eyes of hers and gave him her general theory.  
  
"I had calculated the last known sighting of the secret operation, it was somewhere out here in the valley, possibly near a large mountain. Seeing how there are too many to count, I drove around for hours to see any sign of tire prints leading off into the dirt roads. I looked and I looked and I looked...but damned if I could find one coming off the main highway. Now you show up with your spiffy car, covered in filth that looks like the red rock off of one of these mountains and your avoiding my questions with some stupid macho male garbage. Tell me Spike...You wouldn't happen to know of a military operation going on around here now would you?"  
  
As Spike sits there totally now ticked off about this woman's arrogant manner towards him, he thinks about curbing her butt back on the side of the road and driving away again. He would like to do that very, very much. Unfortunately if he did then that would confirm every suspicion that Carly had about him, without hesitation he came up with a lie that would quiet her for the time being.  
  
"For your information lady, my dad's construction company is doing a job out here, we're clearing a path for a new highway that will tunnel through one of the mountains. So yeah, I've got red rock dust on my pants and yeah, I've got a cool car that you seem very jealous about.... But I don't have a clue on what your talking about some military...whatever. I go out of my way to pick you up and drop you off into town...and this is the thanks I get?? Listen, I'm going to finish taking you to town...but after that...I think it's best we don't ever come into contact with one another ever again. I think all that heat is making you bonkers!"  
  
Carly's mouth remained open at this young man's rudeness to her, putting her sunglasses on again, she turns away angry and folder her arms over, "Fine! Be that way...the sooner we get there the better. And don't worry yourself about me ever talking to you...once you drop me off I hope we do never meet again. I pity the poor woman that ever marries a jerk like you...all I asked if you seen anything and you give me this big attitude. Well for the rest of the trip, I'll just sit here quietly in your 'babe magnet' mobile...and you can save me from anymore of your intellectual chatter. Bastard!"  
  
Carly leaned back in her chair and turned to her window. Spike was mad at this woman, he could have been a bit more relaxed in his lie, and he could have even been a bit more polite. But being patient is never Spike's strength, his whole life is rushing in where angels fear to tread. Gripping the steering wheel hard, he thought about the whole argument they just had, she was right in some respects, but he was under obligation not to divulge anything further about what he had seen or heard. He and his dad were in enough trouble already, why drag others down into their hopelessness. Bumblebee once again had to listen to their entire human drama. And once again, he voiced his concern on the speedometer.  
  
SPIKE...NEXT TIME, JUST AS A REMINDER...LETS NOT PICK UP ANYMORE FEMALES WALKING DOWN THE SIDE OF A ROAD, HM? AND EASE OFF ON MY STEERING WHEEL WILL YA? GEEZ!  
  
Spike let his grip loosen on the steering wheel and relaxed a bit more, he'd soon have this woman out of the car and be back to face the punishment from the agents. Even now he thought about what they would really do to him and his father, it seemed as the yellow car drove on down the road, his fate would be sealed no matter which way they went.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
All around the mountainside where the Autobot ship sits exposed, the human soldiers march back down the hillside and salute the General as goes he walking up towards the vessel again. The two agents, Drakemore and Connors, walk beside him and listen in to the conversation he is having with one of his men explaining what has happened since they left. At the top of the mountainous hill, Optimus Prime has all of his Autobot soldiers lined up in a row and is briefing them on the situation at hand. The General, Drakemore, Connors and the lower ranking officer talking to them, all stop to hear what this massive robot is saying to his troops. Optimus Prime paces in front of them all and calls over to Jazz who stands there ready for his orders.  
  
"Jazz, give me the list of who is accounted for."  
  
Jazz salutes his leader, "Yes Sir, Prime!"  
  
Looking over to the men all in formation, he walks along with Optimus Prime as they see each one standing there, "These are who we've managed to repair so far Prime. Hound, Cliffjumper, Mirage, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack, Ratchet, Huffer, Prowl, Ironhide, Smokescreen, Bluestreak, Windcharger, Gears, Brawn, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Then of course there is you and I Optimus, that's how many we've got so far."  
  
Optimus stops and thinks, "Hmm...Hopefully it will be enough to take on Megatron. Are there any others?"  
  
Jazz looks over at him, "The odd few left are in sick bay awaiting repairs, Telatran One's reconfiguration laser is slowly losing power so we needed to conserve the energy it was using. The rest are on the lower levels of the ship and it's blocked off by solid rock. It's going to take all of our guys to unbury it just to get in."  
  
"I see..." the Autobot leader says, "Perhaps our new allies can give us a hand in the digging. But for now...lets just handle this one step at a time."  
  
Facing all of the awaiting robot soldiers, Optimus Prime spoke out in a clear commanding voice as he gave them a full explanation of what's happened, " Men! The years have passed since we crash landed on this world, nearly One hundred million years to be exact and the fate of Cybertron is unknown to us at this time."  
  
The shock of his revelation sends the robotic soldiers into a flurry of whispers and gasps, but as Prime speaks again they all stop to listen, "We were accidentally awoken by the inhabitants of this world, a planet they call, Earth. These...Humans...also managed to wake up the wrong crop of Transformers, it appears that Megatron and his Decepticons have escaped once again. As distressing as that may sound, we must endeavor to push on together and fight Megatron once more. I want you all to prepare yourselves for combat, the Decepticons could strike at any time or any place, I want you to recharge your weapons and make ready for whatever comes our way. Understood?"  
  
The Autobots all straighten up and salute him, "YES SIR!!"  
  
"Uh...Prime?" a slightly tired and rusty sounding voice echoes out of the line up.  
  
Optimus looks over and sees one of the soldiers raising his hand at him. Gears is his name, a very old Cybertronian warrior that looks as though he doesn't even belong with the group. His red, blue and grey color schemes is faded and warn, no real turnable head to speak of, as it is built into his design. To look around a corner he'd have to shift his whole body, his big wide blue eyes always look as if he's tired, a sign that he's not the young Autobot that stepped off the line like so long ago. Gears lowers his hand as Optimus sees him and continues to speak.  
  
"How the Primus are we supposed to fight Megatron again? He nearly slaughtered us on the ship and he even managed to destroy all of our friends on Cybertron. My joints are aching in this overly rich oxygen atmosphere and I don't care much for these humans for waking me up from a good rest."  
  
Sideswipe standing near by laughs at the old robot's complaints, "Ah quit your complaining Gears we all know your just trying to get out of your duties. Tell ya what old timer...why don't you sit down, have a nice relaxing vacation and let the REAL heroes go out and do the battling for ya. How's that sound? Hm? Well tell Megatron that we're sorry you couldn't come because you had to stay behind and rust!"  
  
The other Autobots all laugh out loud, Sideswipes comments made everyone howl with humor, all but Gears that is. He's been the butt of so many jokes before, he's passed promotions and commendations, watching the younger robots climb the ranks and turning around to give him the orders. Gears quickly turns to Sideswipe and shakes his fist at the joker.  
  
"Alright you ungrateful punk! You got your laugh...now why don't you stick that smug attitude of yours and put it to some real use! I think your lover Sunstreaker over there needs a polishing from you again!"  
  
The Autobots all laugh again, Gears made a good comeback and took Sideswipe by surprise. The red sleek robot stood there in amazement as Gears insulted him, he looked over to his buddy Sunstreaker and saw that he wasn't laughing either. Sunstreaker wanted to punch that old transformer's lights out, but the others held him back as he tried to go over there.  
  
"I'll show you polishing you crazy old coot!! Come here!!"  
  
Optimus Prime raised his voice forcing all of them to quickly snap back to attention and stop the fooling around, "AUTOBOTS!! AS YOU WERE!!"  
  
The leader had enough of the foolishness, this was not the time to be silly, "This is no game and certainly not a holiday.... for any of us! Megatron is on the loose and your worried about the stupidest things? Gears, as one of the older soldiers I expected more from you. Have you forgotten all the friends he slaughtered back home? Sideswipe...Sunstreaker...no more joking around, I need all of you to be focused and ready to do your duty. Until the Decepticons are stopped, I want all of you to act like the soldiers you were trained to be; we're fighting for the very preservation of life itself.... both for us and for the creatures on this world. Now then...."  
  
Prime walks over towards Hound and Cliffjumper, standing directly in front of them, he gives them a new assignment, "Hound, Cliffjumper...I need you to track down and locate the Decepticons. Don't try to be heroes and take them on yourself...just let us know the position and stay out of sight until we arrive. And this time Cliffjumper...I mean it.... Do not engage the enemy until backup arrives."  
  
The small red mini-Autobot scrunches his face in disappointment, "Oh...alright Optimus, I'll try to control myself. But you better show up fast when we see them...I wanna show Megatron my new weapon I built just for him!"  
  
The leader just quietly snickers and gives them a command, "Hound, Cliffjumper...Transform and carry out your mission!"  
  
Hound transforms into the green Hummer form he was given by Telatran One, with some U.S. markings on the sides and top of him, he looks almost like one of the General's vehicles. The back isn't even covered with a roof, jus roll bars on the sides and a large sliver gun turret sticking up and out of the back of it. This was a military car if anyone saw it, besides the obvious Autobot symbols on the side right door and the hood, this just looked like the average army hummer. Cliffjumper transformed into the sporty red Mini Cooper, a fast, punchy looking vehicle that suits Cliffjumper's personality to a "T". The two spun their wheels and bolted off down the mountain hillside, the General watched the whole thing and followed the two un-manned cars with his head as they drove out of sight. He couldn't believe what he just witnessed, these things...these robots...they have the ability to "Transform" and disguise themselves. Looking back at the rest of the robots standing there, he wondered what other forms these creatures could take to hide themselves as. Optimus Prime continued to give out his commands to the rest of the Autobots standing there.  
  
"Wheeljack and Ratchet...your top priority is now fixing Telatran One, we need it back online to locate the Decepticons should they move again. Don't bother with the full repairs...just get it back to working condition as soon as you can."  
  
Ratchet and Wheeljack nod at his order. Ratchet, a white and red version of Ironhide, has a Red Cross symbol just below his chest, which in turn looks like a windshield embedded into him. Though same in design to Ironhide, he has a different model head then him; two large wing-like pieces of sliver metal stick out on either side of the center-forward bulge of the robot's helmet. Looking more like a roman helmet, the only thing it's missing is the feathery brush on top of it. Rachet taps the shoulder of Wheeljack and sighs.  
  
"Well...I guess we'd better start right away then. Come on Wheeljack old buddy...lets go see what the damage is like."  
  
The two repair duo head off into the ship, Prime still stands in front of the remaining Autobots and instructs them in their tasks as well.  
  
"The rest of you get those weapons ready and fully charged. I expect all of you to be ready at a moments notice...lock and load Autobots.... dismissed!"  
  
The Autobot soldiers saluted the leader and all began to casually walk back inside the ship as they prepared for war, some chatted amongst themselves about what they should take and of how the battle will go, but as they all filed back inside, the General and the two agents took the time to talk to Optimus Prime. The leader could see the men walking up to him and bent his head down to look at the small humans below him. The human military commander strained his neck looking up at the massive robot, but introduced himself to the Autobot leader like one soldier to another. He raised his hand up in salute, as did Optimus Prime, both lowering it when it was established.  
  
"Optimus Prime, I'm General Matt Arthur, these two beside me are this country's government agents Jack Connors and Mike Drakemore. You'll have to forgive my lack of understanding of what's going on here.... we didn't expect to see more of your kind waking up."  
  
"I understand General.", Prime says slightly squinting his eyes, "This must all be quite a shock to your kind. Just know that we too find this all quite new...your species is very unknown to us. This was an accident, waking us up from our ship and letting Megatron out. No need to worry yourselves.... we'll get him back before he does anything to harm your planet."  
  
Connors laughs, "Pardon me Optimus Prime...but that's a rather unwarranted statement. We've already come into contact with your friends...their minds are controlling our military jets."  
  
"Their minds?", Optimus says in a confused tone, "Oh I see...I think you have it all wrong, the jets weren't being controlled by their minds.... the Decepticons were the jets attacking you."  
  
Drakemore realized what the large robot was saying, "You mean...just like you...they can...transform their appearance?! My god...they could be anything then."  
  
The General nods, "That makes much more sense...the planes were doing things I'd never seen in my whole military life. Well if that's the case then...We're going to have to mount quite the sizeable force to deal with these guys."  
  
The Autobot leader reacted to his comment, "I don't think that would be a wise decision General. Better let us deal with them and keep your men safe here. This is our war...not yours."  
  
Connors shouted at the leader, "NO! That's where you're wrong Robot! This is our planet, this is our territory...who are you to come here and give us orders? Just seeing what you things are capable of doing makes you a danger to the entire world. This is our problem not yours, we're not as weak and helpless as you think we are, so don't give me that whole ' our war not yours' bull. The General will mobilize his armies and launch the attack..."  
  
Prime hated the way Connors called him " Robot" just a second ago, it almost sounded like a racial slur to him, a very rude word to scream at transformer indeed. Prime arched his back and his blue neon eyes flashed with a spark of anger, "This maybe your world...but your in no position yourself to deal with this kind of threat! You lack the technology and weapons to take Megatron on yourselves.... he'll just regard you with little value as he does with all life, you aren't even a threat to him."  
  
Connors and Drakemore laughed as if they weren't even scared. Drakemore turned back down the hill and Connors began walking backwards slowly, "How little you know us Optimus Prime, I can guarantee you we're ready for him...and he'll soon know we're a threat. Don't interfere in our affairs...or we'll have to turn all of our 'resources' on to you as well. Back off Robot.... just back off and let us handle it. Go back into your ship and tell your men to stand down...cause if you get in our way...you're going to regret it."  
  
Connors turned around and continued to walk down with Drakemore back to the helipad, one of the helicopters could be heard starting and looked ready to receive the two agents as they approached it. Optimus Prime once again flashed his eyes at the men in the distance, such stupidity was a frustrating thing to deal with for him; humans were a hard species to figure out. They can be friendly and courteous one moment, and then be totally self-righteous and stupid the next. The General didn't need someone to interpret what Prime was feeling, he's known that kind of emotion since this all started. Looking up to the giant transformer, he gave his apologies about the agent's behavior.  
  
"I'm sorry Prime...men like that...well...they have their own agendas and secrets. These guys aren't ones for being tactful, but he is right though...we are going to deal with your friends our way."  
  
Optimus Prime simply lowered his head and looked down at the small minded human again, "Then you're all going to die needlessly, because I can tell you right now.... Megatron is not our friend; he's a cruel transformer with very little regard for living beings other then his own kind. Trust me when I say this, he will not spare one life...not even yours. Congratulations General...you've just signed this planet's death warrant."  
  
The General walks back down the hill, not even caring what the leader just warned him about. Humans, so arrogant and proud, so stupid and unprepared for what comes their way, but there's no denying the bravery and courage of them all. It was the only two special redeeming qualities the Autobot leader could understand about them. The General was going back down to assemble his troops for battle, something that Optimus Prime also must do as the time nears for major confrontation with the Decepticons again. As the large red and blue robot turns around to go inside the ship, Sparkplug comes running out of it and sees the leader looking distressed.  
  
"Problem?", he asks the giant.  
  
Prime sighs, "In more ways you can think of. Humans...I don't think you guys truly understand what you get into sometimes."  
  
Sparkplug laughs, "Don't feel too bad Optimus.... our history is full with stupid mistakes we keep getting ourselves into. One more is like a notch in the belt for us, granted.... this is much more deadlier then before...but if we can't have faith in our own military then who else can we trust to defend our planet?"  
  
Optimus looks back at the helipad, the chopper the agents are in rises to the sky and takes off into the horizon, "That's a question your kind will have to ask again when this is all over. Trust me Sparkplug, these men don't know what they're about to start."  
  
Sparkplug thinks about it for a second and then after looking at his watch, he stares out in the mountainous valley, "Where the hell is Spike and Bumblebee? I told them to come right back..."  
  
Optimus Prime hears the concern in his voice and begins to wonder as well, "Yes, they have been gone a long time haven't they. Bumblebee should have radioed in about now...I hope something hasn't happened to them. Let me see if I can raise him."  
  
The large robot tapped the top of his right forearm; it gave a small clicking noise and a panel swung back from his arm. The inside had flashing buttons and the back of the panel looked like a flat viewing screen. The sound of garbled noises and static could be heard coming from it, like some one on a radio trying to find the right frequency. Prime tinkered with the buttons and stared at the monitor as he called out for the small yellow Autobot.  
  
"Optimus to Bumblebee.... Optimus to Bumblebee...Come in Bumblebee. If your there respond.... come in Bumblebee. Nothing...no signal."  
  
"It might be the mountains...", explained Sparkplug, "This is a pretty surround place, your signals might be disrupted by them, the military had to use a direct satellite link up to communicate with anyone."  
  
Prime rubs his chin with deep concern, "Our communications are pretty powerful, and usually we can pick up our signals with no problem, even with large land structures in the way. Hmm...No, something tells me there's trouble. I'd better mount up the others and head out looking for them."  
  
"The military won't like you doing that Optimus....", Sparkplug warns him.  
  
"Who cares...I don't answer to them and besides they'll be too busy trying to stop Megatron.... which will end up a slaughter anyway. Come on Sparkplug...you can come with us and have a look as well, I'm sure your just as concerned for Spike as I am for Bumblebee."  
  
The construction worker shrugs his shoulders, "What the hell...not like I've got anything to do anyway. I'd hate to see my boy in any sort of danger...let me go back inside and tell my men what's going on."  
  
Optimus Prime starts to walk inside the ship with Sparkplug, "As will I. I need to get my weapon charged and my men ready to move out."  
  
The General at the bottom of the mountainside looks up at the robot leader and Sparkplug walking back inside, getting into a jeep that pulls up along side of him, he sits in and motions to move forward with his hand. As they pull away, the other vehicles carrying the troops can be seen close behind. Helicopters rise from the helipad and fly above the caravan of soldiers, the dust being stirred up by all the activity fills the air, a sign of the sheer number of trucks, cars and other military vehicles moving out towards the main roads. The General inside the jeep grabs the satellite link up phone and begins to bark his orders to the various commanders awaiting his signal.  
  
"This is General Arthur...All companies move out and prepare for combat. This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill...Operation Full Strike is a go!"  
  
Suddenly he hears another voice on the phone, he flinches to hear who it is, but as soon as the person identifies himself the General looks serious, "What?! Who is this...oh...yes sir. Sorry Mr. President, I wasn't sure about...yes.... yes that's right...no sir I don't see any other option. We're dealing with aliens that could devastate this whole planet. I'm sorry I didn't inform you earlier...yes...yes I know. Area 51 is on the move as well sir.... The Project N leader is overseeing it there and will instruct Connors on what to do when he arrives. Uh huh...yes that's right. Thank you sir.... we'll do our best, I thank you for your trust in me...yes.... yes I hope god does mercy us all. Goodbye Mr. President."  
  
Hanging up the phone, the General looks ahead out the windshield, the deadpan look of a man thinking about his family and loved ones. Still they drive on out of the valley and head out to open road to track down the monster machines, totally unaware of what they may face and the kind of firepower they'll be dealing with. 


	7. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Seven – Secrets and War  
  
A black helicopter flies across a desert terrain, not more then a few feet of the ground it whizzes by a few signs that warn of danger and trespassers will be shot if entered. Inside this helicopter is agent Jack Connors and Mike Drakemore, it's the same copter they used when they had left the Autobot ship site. Both men were looking at various documents all colored in different hues, faint blue letters streamed across the documents that read " Top Secret: Project N - Code 51". Flipping through the many pages, they skimmed the text and put the ones the finished reading back into the dark red folder beside them. Connors eyes flinched at what he was reading, as was his African American friend Drakemore. Both stopped at the same time and looked at one another, it was like they finished reading the same last word and reacted. Drakemore shook his head in disbelief.  
  
"Damn.... I mean.... damn. If this ever got out...sweet Jesus, no wonder they jumped onto that Chip Chase kid."  
  
Connors was slightly bewildered as well, but maintained his professionalism, "He shouldn't have attempted such a stupid thing...at least we managed to silence him before it was too late. Just remember to stay focused Mike, don't freak out on me now, I need to know you are solid with this.... can you deal?"  
  
Drakemore takes a deep breath, "I...I can deal. Don't worry, shit...don't want to see my ass buried in the dirt for spilling anything. Just one thing bothers me about all this though..."  
  
"Oh? What's that?", Connors asks.  
  
"If Chase could break the code and figure out our data network, what's to stop the Autobots from discovering it too? I mean...this will really piss them off. If they know that we have..."  
  
Connors interrupts him, "They won't. The database is secure, not even the smartest computer on Earth can penetrate this new mainframe."  
  
"But Jack...The Autobots are not of this Earth. You'd better pray they don't discover what's been going on...because if they do...you can bet your ass they'll be hell to pay."  
  
Looking over his shoulder and out the side window, Connors stares out and sees that they've stopped in mid air. The helicopter now hovers in one spot and its blades now turn on to whisper mode. Connors then picks up a headset with a microphone attached to it, looping around to his mouth. He looks back at his agent friend and finishes his last thought.  
  
"Hell is coming whether we want it too or not Mike."  
  
Over his headset, he hears a voice radioing in.  
  
"A-51 to unidentified aircraft. Please state your business in this area or be prepared to be fired upon."  
  
Connors acknowledges the voice and talks back, "A-51 this is contact Echo 741 and Hawk 452, clearance code N40 dash 876 dash 411 mark 7. The password is 'Don't Panic' and I am requesting to enter the Area."  
  
"Message received, code confirmed, password is accepted. We have your visual and we approve your entry, welcome to the area gentlemen, the project leader is ready for you.", the voice says back in a cool but stale manner.  
  
Connors smiles as he puts his sunglasses on, "Rodger that A-51"  
  
The helicopter flies inward again, the blades don't even make a sound their so quiet. As they pass by a few rather large fences they come up to a large mountainside, they quickly dart around it and now have a full view of an airbase that looks as if it was hidden from all sight. Down below are military men dressed in dark black and grey fatigues, a massive amount of them marching around and loading up equipment into large trucks with canvases on top of them. The helicopter sets down on the ground that shows the helipad symbol "H", the whispering blades slow down but continues to spin. Three men approach the helicopter and wait for the two agents to step out, two of them look like the soldiers running around in the special uniforms and the one in the middle is dressed in a dark suit and tie just like the two agents are. Connors and Drakemore open the door and step out; they lower their heads as they step quickly away from the helicopter. Once they are clear of the blades, they stand erect and greet the men.  
  
"Agent West, good to see you again.", Connors says to the man wearing sunglasses like him.  
  
"Jack, Drakemore...welcome home. The N Leader has arranged all your gear and the weapon is ready for you to take."  
  
Drakemore puts on his sunglasses as the glare of the hot sun becomes too much for his eyes, "Where is the Leader anyway?"  
  
West looks at him, "He's keeping a low profile just incase, but lets just say he's still on the base and will be watching the progress from the spy satellite. We've found the metal beings just not too far from where the alien ship is. A small town is about to get a rude wake up call from them..."  
  
Connors shakes his head, "Do we expect casualties on this one?"  
  
West nods, "Oh yeah...there will be many. We've been ordered to do whatever it takes to end this, even if that means innocent lives. Gentlemen I don't envy your situation...but this is how it is."  
  
Drakemore clears his throat and asks another question, "What about clean up? Can we contain the people and keep the situation quiet?"  
  
The agent laughs at his question, "No, this is definitely one we cannot contain...gentlemen I don't think you realize what's happened. The international community has found out about this discovery, they now know about the ship and about the robots moving around. Their spy satellites have also seen the location and the same thing we're dealing with right now. The world is waiting to see what we can do and if we actually can stop these aliens, hell...Project N is in jeopardy of exposure if we don't kill these creatures. Understand me?"  
  
Both men nod and West points over to the far side of the base, "The machine is over there, the leader has told the men how to use it and all they need now is for you to carry out your assignments."  
  
"You mean go to war.", Drakemore states.  
  
The agent nods to him, "yeah...you're now in charge of the battle boys. The General will be the first wave of attack, and then when his men are spent, you come in with the weapon and finish the job. Good luck."  
  
West and the two soldiers beside him walk away; Connors and Drakemore turn around to see the object that the man pointed out to them. At the end of the base, a large vehicle sits with massive wheels and covered over with a massive tarp. It looks like something massive is mounted on the vehicle and sticking out well beyond its frame. Whatever it was, Drakemore and Connors walked across the base towards it, a row of soldiers stood in line waiting for their commands and all armed to the teeth with odd-looking weaponry. Three massive helicopters hover down over it, large grappling hooks lowered over the huge thing sitting there and waited for the men to attach them. With one hand signal from Drakemore, the men carried out their duties and got the machine strapped on. Connors smiled with delight seeing all of this; he was ready to see what this thing exactly was and more importantly what it could do.  
  
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Spike, Bumblebee and Carly were entering the edge of the small town, Dawson Valley, the sleepy community that had a population of over one thousand people. It was rather well kept, the roads looked freshly paved, the houses and few apartment buildings looked cozy and well managed, and the town folk were busily walking out in the streets. It was the ideal thriving town that was on the verge of a major boom. It had all the necessary elements to it, schools, a couple of factories, energy facilities, and even construction was well underway as the town was expanding outward. As Bumblebee drove in, he observed how tranquil and peace loving these humans were. It amazed him that not all humans lived the same way, that there was more then just the two sides he had seen, the military and the workers. Here he saw families in the park together, older couples walking about as they shopped, and children frolicking in the school grounds. This was all very strange to him, humans seem to live a simple life, although Spike and Carly inside were much more complex to deal with then what he had observed coming into town. Carly saw the bus stop coming up and collected her self and her things, putting on her hand and shoving her water bottle back into her shorts' pocket. She cleared her throat and sat up.  
  
"Just drop me off over there if you please. I'd like to unburden you as soon as possible."  
  
Spike grumbled to himself, but tried to put on a good face for her, "There ya go.... Ms. Jenkins, sorry I was so rude earlier...hope you don't have too long of a wait."  
  
The yellow Volkswagen pulls up to the bus shelter and stops; Carly gets out of the car and slams the door shut. Not even so much as a 'thank you' she just walks over to the bench and sits herself down away from them. Bumblebee didn't appreciate the woman closing his door like that, he was glad this tempered woman wasn't inside of him anymore, because he was tired of the over emotional drama the two of them were beating on him. Spike sighed for a moment and looked over at Carly. Even though she was sort of being rather rude to him, he in turn knew that his rudeness didn't help matters either. His mother used to say he was just as stubborn as his father was, too arrogant to open up to anyone and too proud to take it back. Bumblebee wondered what he was waiting for, not to alarm the people around him; he continued to send out a text message on his speedometer.  
  
WELL? ARE WE LEAVING OR WHAT? COME ON SPIKE, WE'VE GOT TO GET BACK TO HEADQUARTERS OR ELSE OPTIMUS PRIME AND YOUR DAD ARE GOING TO WORRY!  
  
"Oh Bumblebee...I can't leave her like this. Give me just a second, ok? I need to do something that's not in my nature...apologize."  
  
Spike gets out of the Autobot and walks over to Carly. He plunks himself down next to her and looks over to see her diverting her eyes from him.  
  
"Look...I'm.... I'm sorry I snapped at you."  
  
Carly still keeps her eyes elsewhere and doesn't say a word. Spike continues to talk to her, "Maybe I was being a bit of a male idiot...I dunno...I really can't tell you anything about what's going on right now."  
  
She quickly turns her eyes to him and finally speaks, "So...by that tone I guess I'm supposed to know that you were lying to me in the car. Well Mr. Witwicky...I don't appreciate people acting like total jerks when I ask them a simple question and then..."  
  
Spike interrupts her, "Hold it, Hold it...That was no simple question. You basically came out and demanded I tell you about something I may or may not know about...so yeah I got a bit defensive only because you were being so damn forceful."  
  
Carly blinked, scrunched her mouth and sat back in her spot, "Ok.... maybe.... just maybe I was a tad.... pushy. But I'm tired, I'm filthy, I haven't had a decent night sleep in awhile.... and I guess I'm just tired off people mocking of what I do. So...I'm sorry for being rude to you as well. There...I said it."  
  
Spike rested his hand on her shoulder, hoping she wouldn't snap at him for doing that as well, "For the record Carly, I didn't make fun of what you do.... well...not so much anyway."  
  
His slight snicker after that made her start to crack a smile. She looked over at him and giggled slightly, "Yeah whatever...I know you think I'm a weirdo. I just wish for once I all my theories and shadow chasing wasn't for nothing.... just once...I'd love to be surprised by something.... anything...."  
  
Spike smiled at her for a second, but as he sat there grinning at the girl, he started to notice the bench was vibrating. Looking around he could see the windows on the near by shops were also starting to shimmer, he rose up out of his seat and notice that the vibrations were getting stronger and stronger, in fact...the ground itself was shaking too. Carly also felt this tremor building, as did all of the other people around town. Grumbling louder and louder, the land beneath all of their feet shook violently, nobody could stand up for much longer as it quaked and caused them all to fall. Everyone saw the buildings sway and crack, the sound of car alarms filled the air with the massive grumble of the Earth moving. Spike looked over at Carly, who in turn looked at him, the frightened look in their eyes was a shared emotion. Bumblebee was having a hard time keeping stable himself, most of the cars where all starting to flip and roll away from the massive earthquake tremor. But something told him this was no natural disaster happening.  
  
"Whoa! Can't keep stable...", he voiced out loud to himself, "Wait a minute...my scanners are picking up two distinct tremors...that can't be right...unless...."  
  
The shakes became even worst now, the ground began to spilt wide open and the buildings collapsed, people screamed and shouted, as the whole place became a nightmare around them. Phone poles cracked, the wires snapped and whipped around in a fury of electrical sparks. The waterways underneath the roads split open and shot up towards the sky, fires began as the sparks from the hydro wires touched wooden structures and flammable objects. Spike crawled over and grabbed onto Carly, together they desperately tried to get to Bumblebee hoping to climb inside to shield themselves from the devastation. As they finally reached the yellow beetle, the tremors suddenly stopped, as if someone just simply turned it all off with a flick of a switch. It was quiet, apart from the people still hollering and screaming about what happened. But as they all stood up to recover, a large blast came ripping through the middle of the street. Debris was streaming everywhere, Carly and Spike raised their arms up to protect themselves from the explosion. As the two dropped their arms back down, large clunking sounds could be heard coming through the billowing smoke and fiery ash, as they looked up to see the direction it was coming from, out came Megatron. The sliver robotic giant came into view like the devil stepping out of his hellish fire. Towering over all the people, he looked down at them and gave the most evil grin one could imagine. Spike remembered this menace from before; this was the same creature that attacked the guards at the ship, a memory he'd never forget and one that he was reliving again standing there with his mouth ajar looking at him. Carly screamed as she saw the sizable giant, everyone did as they saw this creature walking through, a horror to all their innocent eyes.  
  
"MEGATRON!!" Bumblebee uttered aloud when he saw whom it was, "Spike!! Get in!!"  
  
Spike heard his Autobot friend call out to him and looked back at the Volkswagen as he snapped out of his terror, looking over at Carly, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to the car. Carly was mesmerized by the sliver robot, but stopped cold in her tracks when she shrieked at Spike and pointed up at the sky.  
  
"SPIKE!! LOOK!"  
  
Out of the smoke filled sky, came more robotic monsters, all looked just as big and menacing as the one that stepped out of the explosion. Jets transformed in front of all their eyes and became those robotic figures as well; they landed on top of debris and buildings as if they weren't even there. The people all panicked and ran to their cars, some just ran and ran, but all made they're way straight out of town. Starscream terrorized those that were too frightened to move as he walked over and taunted them.  
  
"Puny weaklings! Stand and fight us...hahahaha...if you can..."the warrior said in his evil yet irritating voice.  
  
Megatron shouted to the people as they ran and screamed for their lives, "Foolish humans! None shall survive the might of the Decepticons. You are ours to do with as we see fit!!"  
  
Pointing his large arm mounted cannon, he fired at the fleeing horde of people, and it was a hideous sight to see as the energy discharge washed over them all and burning them into vapor. Carly couldn't believe what was happening, people that were there one minute now have been wiped away from existence. Spike eye's welled with tears; they streamed down his face as he shouted.  
  
"NOOOO!!! YOU GOD DAMN MURDER!!!"  
  
Bumblebee was helpless, what could he do? If he transformed, he would be alerting the Decepticons the Autobots survived too soon, not only that, but he was vastly out numbered to fight back. He opened his car door and shouted at Spike once again.  
  
"Spike!! Get in for Cybertron's Sake!! Come On!!! We've got to get out of here and warn the others!!"  
  
Spike shook his head disapprovingly, "Bumblebee we can't just leave these people to die! We have to do something!"  
  
"We will Spike! We have to tell Optimus.... please Spike...I can't fight all of them, I need to get help!!" the young Autobot yelps back.  
  
The Decepticons were busy blasting away at the humans and turning the whole town into rubble for their own use. Spike had no choice but to listen to Bumblebee, he grabbed Carly who was still in shock and crying for the many lives being lost in front of her. He shoved her into the car closed the door, quickly running over to the drivers side he got in and shut his door as well.  
  
As Bumblebee locked the doors automatically, Carly looked out the door window and watched the carnage, "We can't just leave....We can't.....the people....Spike...what about the people..."  
  
Spike hung his head in shame, he too saw the various crowds fleeing for their lives and felt powerless to do anyting. He leaned over and pulled Carly away from the window and held on to her tight in his arms.  
  
"We can't save them! We can't do it alone....we need to go get help Carly. We need to find someone who can..."  
  
The Decepticons where everywhere, blasting everthing in their sight, Spike looked up again out the windshield and saw a group of the metal monsters heading their way. One last look at the whole place crumbling around them made him shout out to his Autobot friend in sheer panic.  
  
"Floor it Bumblebee, if we don't hurry these people will all be dead by the time we get back!"  
  
Bumblebee revved his engine and squealed his tires as he raced out of town. The little car avoided all the debris and sped down the clear part of the remaining road. Megatron looked over and saw the fleeing vehicle, he glanced over at Thundercracker and Skywarp giving them a nod to stop it from leaving. The two flew up in their robotic forms and managed to land in Bumblebee's way. They both pointed their slim lined arm attached weapons at the small car and opened fire. Bumblebee darted and shifted as they shot at him, but still managed to maintain his speed, he saw the confused look on the two Decepticon's faces when they realized he avoided their shots. Again they aimed their weapons at the car coming closer and gave a wider field of laser shots, but this was all too late, because Bumblebee used some of the debris that lay ahead and jumped it into the air. His Volkswagen frame crashed through Skywarp and Thundercracker, as they fell on their backs in total shock and awe. The little car landed safely on the ground again and continued on its way out of the area. Megatron witnessed it all and was disgusted to see his warriors beaten by some humans in a primitive vehicle.  
  
"You morons!! Beaten by frail organic beings...I want that vehicle stopped!! No one makes a fool of the Decepticons!" the evil leader looks over at Soundwave standing beside him, "Soundwave...make them pay!"  
  
"As you command Megatron!", the resonating voiced robot says, "Laserbeak, Ravage.... new instructions, track down the escaping small yellow vehicle and attack!"  
  
High above in the sky hangs Laserbeak, it's yellow eyes flash as it hears Soundwave's instructions, the dark red and black robot bird swoops down and locates Bumblebee from high up. On the birds back are two sliver metallic thrusters with large laser cannons sticking out of it, they are permanently posed on either side and begin to shoot down at the small car. Laserbeak screeches like a hawk as it attacks them, the black head of the bird almost does resemble an Earth type hawk or eagle. Bumblebee once again has to dodge the blasts raining down on him, all the while keeping Spike and Carly safe from harm. Carly, still in shock, clutches on tightly to Spike as he also holds her in great fear. Each time a blast comes near them, they both scream out in terror.  
  
"Damn...I've got Laserbeak on my tail! Can't shake him! Hang on Spike ol' pal.... I'll try to radio for help!"  
  
Carly soon realized the car is talking, with all that's going on, she frantically asks her new found friend who's talking, "S-s-s-Spike? Where is that voice coming from? Why is your car talking to us?!"  
  
Spike nervously laughs, still flinching as the ground explodes randomly outside, "Now is not the time to ask Carly!! Just sit tight and hold that thought for later!"  
  
As Laserbeak fires away from above, a shot rings out and clips the robotic bird's wing. Screaming in pain, Laserbeak spirals out of control and crashes on the ground, suddenly a voice booms out to the yellow beetle racing down the road.  
  
"HAHA...nailed that lil' sucker in one shot!"  
  
Bumblebee realizes whose voice it is and laughs in joy, "Hound?! Hound is that you?!"  
  
"You better believe it buster!"  
  
Pulling up along side of him is a dark green hummer with Autobot symbols on it and that's when the small Autobot new it was indeed his friend Hound. Then another voice came out and Bumblebee instantly knew whom it belonged too.  
  
"Hey Bee man.... you trying to take on the Decep's by yourself or something?"  
  
Bumblebee laughs again as a red Mini cooper pulls up beside him with a large white Autobot symbol sitting on its roof, "Actually Cliffjumper, I was bringing them to you...I know how much your looking for a good fight."  
  
Cliffjumper laughs at the yellow Volkswagen's remark, "Wouldn't be a party without a good fight buddy! I'm just we can't go in there and give them the full pounding they deserve."  
  
"What do you mean? Look we have to go back and help out...", Bumblebee shouts back at them as they all speed down the road together.  
  
"No can do little guy, Prime wants us only to report back with their location...", Hound says back to him.  
  
Spike hears the whole thing and shouts at the fleeing yellow Autobot, "We gotta go back Bumblebee...make them go back and stop the Decepticons.... Please...."  
  
Bumblebee agrees with Spike, "I know, I know.... come on you guys...we have to go back and help those poor humans being attacked! To hell with our orders...for Primus's sake...people are dying!!!"  
  
Cliffjumper wasn't one to say no to something like that, he cursed Megatron under his breath, "That sick evil transformer...I'm gonna rip out his heart! Let's do it.... we'll turn around and...."  
  
"We're not going to do anything!", Hound interrupts, "Listen guys, we can't fight the whole group on our own...we'd be out gunned and out numbered in no time! Now don't make me pull rank on you two, so smarten up and pull it together. If Optimus wants us back, then we go back...understand? I can't hear you soldiers.... Do you understand?!"  
  
Both Bumblebee and Cliffjumper grumble, Hound is the superior to both of them and also very right in his answer. Both agree and respond back at the same time. "Yes Sir! Understood Sir!"  
  
As they continue to drive away, a black, sleek looking robotic panther watches them come his way. The glowing yellow eyes on the creature stares at them as they pass. Ravage, as he is called, jumps up towards them and transforms. He takes the form of a minidisk and shrinks down to the human equivalent size of the object. Ravage attaches himself to the back of Hound, who clearly doesn't feel him magnetize there. Riding off back towards the highway, Hound, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee all make their way back to the Autobot ship. No one is aware that Ravage is coming along for the ride, the perfect spy to discover their secret.  
  
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In the smoldering ruins of the now destroyed town, Megatron walks amongst the dead and debris and stand there laughing, it reminds him of the days of Cybertron when he began the war against the Autobots. Those where the days of high casualties and spreading fear, his fear to be exact, Megatron was a force to be reckoned with at the beginning of it all. But then came Optimus Prime, who showed the Autobots that Megatron's fear was an illusion and one that could be pushed right back at him and his followers. Laughing at all the carnage reminded him of those times, the times before Optimus Prime, now he laughs again knowing that Prime shall never interfere with his plans ever again. Soundwave approaches his leader very carefully and becomes the bearer of bad news.  
  
"Megatron, The human vehicle has eluded us..." the blue/grey transformer says to the laughing maniac.  
  
"What?!" Megatron yells as the mention of it breaks his laughter, "Idiots! Morons!! A bunch of Karpalian Octo-droids could kill those fleeing cowards with out even trying!!"  
  
Starscream comes walking over with a badly damaged Laserbeak in his hands, "It appears the humans have managed to cripple your precious spy, oh mighty Megatron. Perhaps they're more of a threat to us then you think."  
  
Laserbeak squeaks in pain as Megatron sees the extent of the damage done to the minidisk robot. Soundwave takes the injured robot bird and converts his hand into a laser tool for repairing it. His hand slips inside and a bright flash of light soon brings out the weird looking cutting device that has multiple miniature arms for careful work. Starscream snickers at Soundwave's delicate care and continues to berate Megatron about it, "Look at this...already we have one casualty and you've managed to wipe out a small harmless village. I am impressed with your leadership thus far...."  
  
The sarcastic tone in the air commander's voice irritated the sliver- polished leader to no end; he quickly grabbed Starscream by the throat and held him up into the air, "Once again you are pushing your limits Starscream!! I told you if you don't learn to curb that tongue of yours I'd rip it out of you!! Now stop this playing around and get to work on the computer needed to helm the new ship, I want it to be fully functional by the time the vessel is complete. NOW!"  
  
He throws the struggling Decepticon down onto the ground again, the air commander coughs and gasps as he tries to regain his voice, "Yes...Megatron.... I...I will do that..."  
  
As Starscream gets up and walks away from the towering leader, a group of purple and pale green Decepticons approach Megatron and salute him. The one robot of the six steps out and asks the evil commander a question.  
  
"The place is fully destroyed Megatron. Rumble and Frenzy have given us an excellent condition to begin our work."  
  
The leader looks over at the robot, "Good, then all is prepared for our new launch pad. Have you enough materials and energy to build? "  
  
"Enough to make the platform and some of the engines.... but we require more metal and more energy if this is going to work.", the purple, faded green robot says.  
  
Megatron rubs his chin lightly with his index finger and thumb, "Hmm, perhaps we can forgo the luxuries and make it worthy enough to simply get us back to Cybertron. We'll look into it later...but for now begin your work. Constructicons, Transform!"  
  
The six robots do exactly as he commands; they all transform and become Earth style construction vehicles. Together they begin to push, plow, remove and dig into the dead town, as they convert the place into the new Decepticon launching area. The bodies of dead humans lay about, but with the help of the other Decepticons, they simply pile them into a ditch and have Thundercracker and Skywarp vaporize them with their lasers. Those that managed to survive were the lucky ones, for the Decepticons have no interest in preserving life; theirs is the only one they care to call 'life'. Soundwave finally repairs Laserbeak and replaces the tool-device back into his own hand again.  
  
"Laserbeak...Transform", the resonating monotone voiced robot commands.  
  
The bird squeals and turns into its minidisk form in Soundwaves hand. He then places the minidisk Decepticon back inside his open chest front loader and closes it once it's stored in him. The robot then walks over to the leader, all around him are busy Decepticons, working on various projects and cleaning up the area. The Constructicons move about quickly and manage to form new materials out of the human buildings. One of the Constructicons is build like a mixer truck, as it gets loaded up by the others, it rolls its centrifuge and pours liquid that instantly hardens into flat sheets of fortified concrete. The slabs are then cut by the various Decepticons and are brought over to where the main area of construction will be. Megatron looks on as his warriors build, not lifting a finger to help any of them, he doesn't see the need too, he is after all...their leader. Soundwave finally manages to reach Megatron and reports on Laserbeak's status.  
  
"Laserbeak fully repaired Megatron. But energy consumption has drained his power nodes. And my calculations suggest that more of our warriors will loose valuable energy as the work progresses."  
  
Megatron nods, "Yes...we are low on energy that is for certain. This planet is rich in it. We must drain it and take it with us...but since the ship will have to be more compact, storage will be limited."  
  
Soundwave's chest plate quickly darkens and turns into a viewable monitor for him, scrolling designs and electronic blueprints fill the viewer as he suggest certain options, "If we convert the energy into stable Energon Cubes, the ship could have a special cargo hold, one that could contain nearly 9000 units of deco-quads."  
  
Megatron grins at the numbers, "9000 units? It would be enough to rebuild our world and fuel my armies. Are you positive it could be achieved? Energon Cubes are a lighter load to take back...but much more deadlier if they are dropped or even jolted around too much."  
  
"Being more compact would make them very fragile...but it is the only solution in order to take as much energy back with us as possible." the yellow uni-eyed transformer says with certainty.  
  
Megatron thinks about it, pacing back and forth, then stopping suddenly and looking back at the blue robot, he makes his final decision, "Very well...Prepare a new ship schematic and create the perfect cube force field stable enough contain all that energy."  
  
"As you command Megatron."  
  
Soundwave bows to his leader and stands there calculating within his super advanced computer brain that also shows on his display screen as he processes it all.  
  
Megatron sighs and places his finger to his chin as he thinks again, "Now all we need is a suitable power source capable of giving us unlimited amounts of energy. Hmmm...Plus we'll need to refuel soon...there must be a quick source of energy to tide the Decepticons over for now."  
  
Suddenly he could hear a voice cry out, it was Rumble and he was warning them all of something headed their way, "INCOMING!!!"  
  
A streak came across the sky and impacted on the surface near a group of the Decepticons, the massive explosion jolted them all out of position but quickly recovered. They didn't even look damaged as it hit them all, but did manage to stun them for a mere few seconds. More streaks and impacts came across to them, causing Megatron to wonder where it was coming from. There didn't look like there was anything around for miles...and yet the attacks where striking hard at them as if something was close by.  
  
"What is this?! I can't see anything on the horizon..."  
  
Three blue, grey and green Decepticons ran up to him, the middle one had a large lens that looked built into his gut. As if they shared one mind, all three talked in unison to the leader.  
  
"Then perhaps we can give you a better look!"  
  
Megatron smiled, "Ah, Reflector...Transform and give me a clear visual."  
  
The three transformed, shrunk in size to fit in his hands and looked like a digital camera. The digi-cam was capable of taking snapshots, filming and even zooming in to distances too far for the transformer eye to see. Megatron held Reflector up and aimed him in the direction where the rockets were coming from. On the back of the digi-cam, the LED screen showed him everything as Reflector zoomed in at twice the power. There on the electronic viewer it showed the General and his armies moving in on them, tanks were rolling and rocket carriers where sending off the missiles. Zooming in even more, it showed the entire group of soldiers running on foot and racing ahead in armor plated gun turret vehicles. Reflector commented on the situation.  
  
"It appears the humans have assembled a large force to attack us. Should we retreat?"  
  
Megatron quickly lowered the viewer away from his face and scoffed at the idea, "Retreat?? Are you mad...those puny weapons can even dent or Cybertronian armor you idiot! This is only a temporary set back, let these humans come...we will deal with them and make them pay for their stupidity!"  
  
The Constructicons stop and transform back into robot form, the middle one steps forward and speaks, "Should we form Devastator and wipe them away for you Megatron?"  
  
"No Scrapper...this isn't even worth your attention, get back to work and finish building the platform. You wanted to have some more material? It seems your about to get more..." Megatron says to the Constructicon.  
  
The six robots re-transform into their various construction vehicle modes and continue building the area. Megatron lets Reflector leap out of his hand and transform back into his three separate identities. Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker walk over and Megatron gives them instructions.  
  
"Starscream...take your men and sweep the area. Show them the price for their arrogance!"  
  
Starscream and the others all laugh, "As you command Megatron!"  
  
The three run along the ground and quickly transform into their jet modes, they all blast off from the surface and kick their thrusters into over drive as they streak through the air towards the human army. Inside Starscream's cockpit, a holographic screen pops up and targets the surface below, green and red indicators show that he his locking his weapons on the main group of tanks.  
  
"Pathetic Humans!! No one attacks the Decepticons!! DIIIIEEE!!!!"  
  
Shots ring out from the Decepticon Jets, the ground is littered with laser beams slicing and impacting down on the troops below. Screams of the soldiers dying and tanks blowing up fills the air, the jets pass by in flurry of weapons fire from them and the soldiers below. Still the human army pushes on as they continue to march towards Megatron and the Decepticons who are starting to come into view. Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp swing around to make another pass at the ground assault. But then shots fly by at the three and in their rear viewers they see a large squad of jet fighters heading straight for them. It's as if the entire air force was brought in to bomb the metal giants, the sky was filled with the crafts as they all began their descent at the three lone jet crafts. Skywarp didn't seem too worried, he kinda laughed at the sight of the humans coming to take them on.  
  
"Heh! Look at this will ya...the humans think their superior to us.... time to show them a new trick."  
  
Megatron watched them all from his location, he too saw the mass number of air force coming in, but then on his chest, two indents on either side of his chassis flashed and the voice of Skywarp could be heard as it glowed to his words, "Skywarp to Megatron.... Skywarp to Megatron.... permission to separate from the group and teleport."  
  
Megatron tapped the flashing indent on his chest, "This is Megatron...permission granted! Teleport and fire at will Skywarp...that goes for all Decepticons available!"  
  
Skywarp once again blurred into the sky and vanished, the human jet pilots where astounded by his vanishing act and wondered where the hell he went too. Then they saw him re-appear from the top of the sky and fired down at a group of the jets. All of them exploded in a fiery ball of flames and were sent crashing to the ground. Skywarp once again teleported and vanished from the sky. He kept repeating this pattern of attack all over the place, never giving the pilots a moments notice of where he'd show up next. The human fighters scattered as their numbers decreased by the hundreds, in order to continue their mission, a small group broke away from the fighting Calvary and tried to make a run towards Megatron's location. Thundercraker flew straight by the group at mach speeds; well ahead of them he managed to do a 180-degree spin that seemed to astound the human pilots. No jet could attempt such an aerodynamic stunt like that, it was practically impossible, stopping the jet and spinning around would surely tear a plane in half. As Thundercracker faced them he took aim and fired his side rockets towards them, the jets tried to break their tight formation hoping to elude the incoming rockets, but they exploded into several different smaller versions and managed to hit each jet trying to move out of the way. The once blue sky was now red and grey, fire and smoke clouded over the whole area like the coming of doomsday. The General was well away from the main frontlines, monitoring everything further back where the second wave of men and weapons sat awaiting orders to move in. The General and a few other ranking soldiers were standing in a pitched tent with monitors and radios surrounding all of them. The screens showed the insides of various tanks and planes, each one blacking out and switching over to the next available one.  
  
"My God! This is a slaughter...Lieutenant are we even half way in there?!" the General blurted out.  
  
The soldier standing next to him in the small tent held a radio head set to his right ear, he tinkered with the tuning knobs and kept moving his eyes from one monitor to the next, "No sir...Squadron A just reported heavy losses at the front lines and ground assault can't seem to move ahead with the vehicles. The foot soldiers not wounded or separated from their platoon are trying to maintain the course. It's a nightmare out there sir..."  
  
"I can see that damnit! You don't need to tell me that!" The General yelled to him, "Give me estimates...how long before we can bring in the second wave? "  
  
The lieutenant stared at him blankly and gave him the only answer he could, "Sir...the first wave will be gone within a matter of minutes.... We have to send in the second squad now! The men are dying by the hundreds out there..."  
  
The General sighed and banged his fist on one of the makeshift monitors, "And thousands more if we send in the second wave...these aliens are going to kill ever god damn last one of us. Alright.... lord forgive me for this.... send in the second wave."  
  
The soldier returned to his headset and spoke into the small microphone, "Squadron B you are a go! Attack force Delta you are a go! Rock and Roll boys...move it out!!"  
  
Outside their tent, a huge number of military vehicles and troops began to march inward to the valley of death awaiting them. Apache helicopters and Blackhawks rose from the ground and began to fly beyond the ground troops. More rocket-propelled rockets launched towards the Decepticons, hitting around the same area as before, the incoming fire managed to strike at the base of the Constructicon's slowly rising launch pad. The explosion blew apart their work and made them all recoil from the impact. Megatron was furious at the humans, to think mere flesh creatures could stop him in his conquest for universal domination. Some soldiers that managed to get through the area unharmed now sprayed the evil robots with their bullets; it hit all of the Decepticons like rain, not even scratching their armor. Megatron had enough of their games, and called out to all Decepticons.  
  
"These humans want a war do they? Fine...Let's show them the true meaning of war! Decepticons!! Transform and attaaaaack!!!"  
  
Soundwave approached the various soldiers shooting at him on the ground; he simply rose up his arm and touched one of the buttons on his top chest area. A massive high pitched sound wave filled the whole battlefield, the noise was so painful it seemed like it was stabbing right into their brains. The men collapsed and screamed in total agony, those that couldn't take it any longer ran back from where they came from. Some still tried to raise their guns to attack the monstrously huge blue robot, but Soundwave took out his weapon and fired at them all as they coward in pain. A quick flash from his gun and the laser vaporized the soldiers as they sat there helpless. Reflector also came across the open valley, the various surviving tanks and armored carriers tried to fire at the three robots, but the robots all smiled and began to glow bright neon green. As the men shielded their eyes from the light, they noticed the three robots had somehow multiplied themselves in to a growing number of copies. For each Reflector drone, there was at least three more made, perfect replicas of the original three and all armed with weapons. The humans tried to fire at all of the robots aiming their weapons down at them, but little could be done to stop their deaths. In a quick barrage of laser fire from the robots, the humans died in bright light of death. Nothing remained, only fragments of their vehicles and the odd uniform scraps. The Constructicons kept their vehicle forms and drove to the other human vehicles breaking inward, it was the second wave of ground troops trying to move ahead. Scrapper took lead and gave his fellow Constructicons an idea on how to deal with the attacking horde.  
  
"Ok Constructicons.... lets run these bugs down!"  
  
One of the Constructicons, disguised as a dump truck and in the same unified light green color as the rest of the group, spoke out to the lead robot, "Should we combine into Devastator and finish them all off Scrapper?"  
  
"No Long Haul, let's not waste our energy...besides it won't take much to squash these creatures!"  
  
They all laughed and began ramming the humans as they tried to get by them, nothing could stop this group of Decepticons and they made sure that everything that was crushed was pushed, buried and demolished out of their way. The human soldiers realized they were losing badly and fled in retreat back to the main camp site, it was a hopeless cause and thousands lay dead all around. In the skies, Starscream was taking out helicopters as he zoomed in and shot them all down into burning chunks of metal. It was a flawless victory for the air commander, the choppers were too slow to track him and unable to react fast enough to do any damage. One of the second waves of jet fighters moving in managed to shoot a rocket at Starscream; it impacted on his right wing, which knocked him around. The air commander shuttered in pain as he felt the blast, but quickly recovered to see whom it was that got in the cheap shot at him.  
  
"You little twerp!! How dare you attack me!!"  
  
Starscream rushed in towards the human pilot, who didn't move a muscle as the Decepticons came racing in towards him, he thought he was going to get a clear shot at this evil alien...but it would never come. Starscream transformed into his robot mode, reaching up he grabbed the jet and looked inside the cockpit. The human was screaming in fear as the giant robot's eyes stared at him.  
  
"So...you thought you could take me out did you? Pathetic...all of you humans are pathetic. I am Starscream...and no flesh creature can harm me!! Die you worthless creature!!!"  
  
Starscream crushed the plane with his bare hands; the twisting metal and crunching of the cockpits glass soon left only a bloodstained splatter inside. Starscream laughed at the sight, for him it was no worst then stepping on an ant and as far as the giant robots were concerned...that's what the human species where to them. Megatron did nothing to aid in the destruction of the humans, still standing where he was at the beginning of the conflict, he watched the war with a sinister smirk on his face. Nothing could touch him, these humans were losing to his warriors and that pleased him a great deal. Now they would understand that no one could defeat the Decepticons, these weapons they were using were completely worthless against theirs. And sitting back in the tent, over in the temporary campsite of the human resistance, the General was beginning to finally understand that Optimus Prime was right all along. They didn't get a war, it was a slaughter. He was just about to phone the President of the United States, when the lieutenant monitoring the communication traffic got an incoming message for the commander.  
  
"Sir...I've got someone on the radio named Connors...he's coming in with a bunch of weapons and men, he wants to know if our forces have been unable to stop the alien threat."  
  
The General looks over, "Connors?? What's that damn fool brought now? Tell him...tell him...."  
  
The army commander struggles to think of exactly what to tell that secret government agent, he knows that they're bringing in a special type of weapon that might save the war, but rather then admit defeat he'd just like to say no and keep the agent back. But as he looks up at the various monitors and the sounds of the troops dying over the airwaves, he hangs his head and sighs.  
  
"Tell him to proceed with his plan...begin the retreat of our troops..."  
  
The lieutenant's eyes widen, "But...but sir...."  
  
The General kicks the monitors down with his rage, "Son of a Bitch!! Just do it.... we've lost this round...its up to Connors now and whatever the hell he's brought."  
  
"Yes sir...", the soldier says back to him, slightly shaken from the army commander's outburst.  
  
In the sky well back from the war taking place, the group of heavy armored helicopters lifting the secret weapon still covered comes flying in. Inside the main double bladed helicopter sits Connors and Drakemore. All around them are troops dressed in the black and grey uniforms with pitch- black helmets. Connors has the radio headset attached to his head and listens to the General's lieutenant grant him permission.  
  
"You are hereby given the go to proceed Mr. Connors, the war is now yours."  
  
Connors smiles listening to the soldier saying it over the radio and responds back, "Rodger that...and tell the General...This war is about to be over real soon!" 


	8. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Eight – The Battle Begins  
  
Inside the Autobot ship back at the mountain site, Optimus Prime and the others finish charging their weapons. Sparkplug gives his workers their instructions to finish up repairs and return to their makeshift homes at the base of the mountainside. Ratchet and Wheeljack are fiddling away at the controls of Telatran One, tools lay out all over the place and large open panels reveal the inner workings of the mega-computer. Wheeljack lowers himself down on one knee and reaches in on the open section below, using one of the tools laying beside him, he places it in and gives it a few twists with his wrists. The tool seems to create a few sparks inside the open panel as he uses the tool, the computer then starts to hum in a calm manner, more lights and buttons begin to flash on the huge console above him.  
  
"There...that should do something.... maybe just give us a brief view of what's happening out there."  
  
Optimus Prime is checking out his large black weapon, a massive gun that seems to have a long cylinder shape at the end of it, much like looking at a futuristic cannon. He walks across the room to Ratchet and Wheeljack, who look to him for approval of their work.  
  
"Well done you two. Scan the area for Decepticon energy signatures..."  
  
"Will do Prime.", Wheeljack says cheerfully.  
  
Wheeljack turns to the console and begins to fiddle with the various buttons and switches; each one makes a unique electronic sound and flashes a variant color as he touches them. On the massive screen of Telatran One, a big schematic of the area becomes viewable, a topographic view of the mountains, valley and the surrounding area to it. But as it tries to home in on the Decepticons, the screen begins to static a bit and fizzles; the voice of the computer explains the cause of this effect.  
  
"Alert.... negative sensor lock on Decepticon energy signatures. Scanners are being disrupted from an outer source."  
  
Optimus leaned down on the console and stared into the giant monitor, "Telatran One...confirm that and locate source."  
  
The computer makes a few deep electronic noises as it checks it's own data, "Confirmed and identified. Scanners are being prevented beyond this area, there is an unidentified satellite in orbit of the planet blocking Autobot communications and sensors."  
  
"Impossible!", Wheeljack shouts out, "Telatran One, give us a visual of this satellite!"  
  
The computer puts the image on the viewer for all of them to see; the satellite is small and hanging in space above them. Prime squints to see the tiny object displayed before him.  
  
"Give me a closer visual Telatran One..."  
  
Prime's command makes the computer enhance the image at twice the size, now it is fully visible and nearly takes up the entire screen. It's dark grey and has a black round eye that protrudes from the base of it. On either side are large solar panels stretched out looking like wings attached to a small bug. Everyone studies it carefully, even Sparkplug who walks over looking at it like the rest of them.  
  
"What the hell is that thing?", Sparkplug inquires.  
  
Prime straightens his back and taps his large gun at the side of his leg, "I don't know...I've never seen that sort of technology before. But it does have some things to it that seem familiar."  
  
Wheeljack confirms that as well, "Yeah...I see some stuff too. But this looks like a combined mish-mash of various other technology as well...in fact...those solar panels are human engineered."  
  
"How can you tell that Wheeljack? You don't even know what our technology looks like." Sparkplug says to him.  
  
The robot turns around and looks down at him, "I've been looking at your various vehicles and military crafts...it seems to me that this is just as primitive in design as your other technology. Solar panels like these are pretty much old school...oh...uh...sorry...no offence intended."  
  
Sparkplug smiles, "None taken. Your technology is a lot more advanced then our stuff. But it makes me wonder where that thing came from, or more importantly whom it belongs too?"  
  
Optimus Prime stood there staring at the object on the monitor, "I don't know Sparkplug, but it does explain the fact why we can't communicate with Bumblebee and Spike. Nothing beyond this mountain area can send or receive transmissions of any kind. Almost as if...as if someone wants us keep our scanners away from something...or someplace."  
  
Ratchet leans back on the computer console and thinks about it, "You know Prime, ever since we got here those humans in the dark clothes have been keeping us here for some reason. I get the feeling they don't want us out of this region. Maybe I'm being too paranoid about this..."  
  
Ironhide over heard the conversation as he steps into the room and voices his own opinion, "Paranoid nothin'! I think those humans are trying to stop us from getting rid of the Decepticons! Maybe they don't want to be our allies...maybe they want to join up with Megatron and become just as powerful!!"  
  
Optimus Prime shook his head, "No Ironhide...I doubt very highly that's their intentions. They seem rather bent on destroying the Deceptcions as much as we do."  
  
"Pardon me Optimus..." Sparkplug interjects, "But I think I know what their real intentions are."  
  
Prime looks down at Sparkplug as he explains, "Think about it for a second. You guys are advanced cybernetic life forms, with technology we could only dream about.... sounds to me like Connors and the rest are trying to keep it for themselves. I'm ashamed to admit it myself...but there are some people in this world that will do just about anything to have superior technology...or even weapons."  
  
Wheeljack's eyes light up with realization, "Of course! They want our weapons! It all makes sense...they didn't want to wake us up...that was an accident! What they wanted to do was steal our technology, our bodies, even our weapons and use it for themselves! Diabolical!"  
  
Ironhide clenched his fist and shook it in anger, "Why those thievin' little punks!! You see Optimus? You can't trust these humans at all! They're secretive, two faced, war hungry primitives!"  
  
"Yes...but doesn't that sound familiar to you Ironhide?" Prime rebuttals, "We do the exact same thing on our planet, we've had secrets from one another, we've spied, waged war and even stolen technology and weapons from both sides. It seems that every world has its duality, those that look for the good and those who seek out to do evil. Who are we to judge these people when we ourselves are no better then they. I am disturbed by the fact the humans are trying to keep us contained here...but something in my spark told me that I've suspected their intentions all along. We must remember that not all humans are bad, Sparkplug, Spike and the others we've had here helping us have taken great risks to befriend us in the name of peace and cooperation. This should be our goal, to make human kind understand that we come not to war and rule their world...but to be their friends and help guide each other to find peace."  
  
Ironhide crosses his arms and hangs his head, "Speeches are one thing Optimus...action is another. Ok...maybe not all humans are bad. But the ones holding us back aren't helping matters any either..."  
  
Outside the mountain, just beyond the area boundary, Bumblebee, Hound and Cliffjumper are racing towards the ship at breakneck speed. As they come closer to checkpoint, they notice no one is guarding it anymore, no soldiers, and no skeleton crew, just the odd workers from Sparkplug's construction group. They continue to speed by them all as they race up the hillside towards the ship's entrance. Carly gazes at the whole thing and wonders what is going on.  
  
"Spike? What...what is all this...where are we going?"  
  
Spike sighs and finally confesses to her about everything, "Uh...Carly. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it wasn't my fault...I was given instructions not to tell, but it all seems kinda pointless now. The construction job I was working on found this buried ship in the mountain, these cars we're riding in aren't from around here if you get my meaning..."  
  
Carly's eyes lit up as she took in what he was trying to say, "You...mean.... I.... I was right??"  
  
"You bet your ass you were.... The military tried to keep a lid on all of this, but from the looks of things they're on their way to fight the evil monsters we left back there. There's a lot to explain Carly...just know that the cars we're riding in right now are our friends."  
  
Carly saw the large ship entrance approach as Bumblebee quickly drove up and into it, looking on either side, she realized nobody was driving in the vehicles beside theirs, even Spike wasn't even steering the car as they went racing down the long alien corridor. She slightly giggled at the sheer wonder of it all, Spike couldn't help but grin at seeing her face. It was refreshing to him to have someone else share his amazement of all of it, Carly wasn't like any girl he met before, if he had taken any of the women from his past, they would have freaked out and tried to get away from all of this as much as possible. Spike looked out the windshield in front as Bumblebee and the others approached the bridge, Carly looked over at Spike as he gazed out, he had pegged this young guy all-wrong. Here she thought this was just some stupid pig headed twit she's had to deal with time and time again. Always meeting men that were more interested in their cars and their own egos then anyone else. She's even had to put up with a lot of sexism; guys usually don't see her intelligence, only her blonde hair thinking she's a typical dumb blonde. She knew she'd have to apologies to Spike for acting so hostile to him, but as she began to mouth the words to him, they entered into the large room where Optimus and the others all stood. Hound and Cliffjumper stopped and transformed into their robot modes. Bumblebee also stopped and opened both doors for the two humans inside to get out of him. Carly and Spike eased their way out and as soon as they were clear of him, Bumblebee transformed.  
  
"Where in the name of Primus have you all been?", Optimus Prime demanded.  
  
Bumblebee gasped as if he was out of breath, "Sorry Prime...but we've got a situation here! Megatron just destroyed a town full of humans!"  
  
"What?!" Ironhide bellowed  
  
Hound saluted his leader and gave his report, "Sir, the Decepticons have engaged the human settlements, they were slaughtering the poor people by the hundreds! We were outnumbered by them so we came back here to get reinforcements...we kept trying to reach you but for some reason we couldn't get through!"  
  
Optimus Prime clenched his fist, "Megatron! Only he would be so cowardly to attack innocent civilians...the monster!"  
  
"Enough chatting guys! What are ya going to do?! Come on.... People are dying by the hundreds!!" Spike screamed out.  
  
Sparkplug ran over and held on to his son, "My god! Are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they?"  
  
He pushed his father away from him and began screaming, "Leave me alone! People are dying out there Dad! We don't have time for any of this.... we have to do something! Where the hell is the army? Agent Connors? Where are they all?"  
  
Sparkplug was shocked by his son's reaction, but then realized where the military was heading, "Spike...I.... oh...Oh my god, that's where they went too...they know where they are! They're going to try to take on the Deceptions!"  
  
Spike tries to come to grips with the situation, "Optimus Prime please help us! You don't know what it was like to see them vaporized in front of our eyes.... God! You have to tell them to back off...they'll be killed...all of them!"  
  
Prime tries to explain to Spike, "You're mister Connors was rather insistent that we not get involved, he told us that they had some sort of 'resource' at their disposal.... what that means I have no idea..."  
  
Carly snapped out of her gaze, looking at all of the large Autobots around her was quite intimidating, but when Optimus Prime mentioned about the secret, she remembered a very important thing.  
  
"You mean Project N?"  
  
Optimus looked at her confused, "I beg your pardon?"  
  
Nervously and still shaking from it all, she explains what she means, "There was a mention about a secret covert operation on the internet...uhm.... on a information network dedicated to revealing hidden secrets if you will.... some person named Phoenix was trying to expose a government conspiracy. This guy called Phoenix started a big website devoted to the project and anything connected to it, he must have been one hell of a hacker because the stuff he would put up was highly classified secret government documents. Phoenix would chat on and on about how it was bigger then anyone could dream of, alien technology, daily misinformation's to throw him off, and even mysterious air traffic coming in and out of Area 51."  
  
The Autobot leader listened intently, "What else can you tell me about all this..."  
  
Carly sighed, "Not much more really...Phoenix just up and disappeared from the net. No one has heard from him for nearly over two and a half years. Prime...I think our government is going to do something...well...something really stupid. Spike is right...we have to stop this right now."  
  
Optimus nods, "Stupid is the very word I was searching for.... But I agree, we must help. Ironhide...alert the others, it's time for action."  
  
Ironhide smiles, runs over to a large red button on the wall and presses it.  
  
"Now we're talkin'! Let's go get these guys!"  
  
The loud horn noise and flashing red light fills the room, Carly looks down the ship's corridor and sees a flood of robots running towards the room. All of the Autobots come running in, they immediately line up in a row and await Prime's command.  
  
"Autobots! The humans have launched an attack against the Decepticons; brave as they are...they will not last long. It's up to us to stop Megatron from wiping this species out, he's already managed to kill many so far...I'm sure the human body count is about to get much higher if we don't intervene. I will not stand by and let this world be destroyed from Megatron's lust for power and conquest. Cybertron will not be his...nor shall Earth! Are you with me?!"  
  
The Autobot soldiers all salute and give him a unified reply, "Yes Sir!!"  
  
Prime looks over at Huffer, a dense orange and blue colored robot, his head looks built into the back part of his body that resembles a truck's cab. Huffer has a metal grey face with blue eyes and his arms look like they are smoke stacks from his truck cab alternate form. A small mini-transformer like Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, but Huffer can be just as tough as the larger Autobots around him. Prime walks over and speaks to him.  
  
"Huffer, I want you and Wheeljack to stay behind. We'll need someone to guard the ship and continue repairs to Telatran One."  
  
Huffer's mouth drops, "But...but Prime! I don't want to sit here and play nursemaid to the computer! I'm a fighter Optimus, not an engineer! Besides, your going to need all the help you can muster!"  
  
"Look Huffer, I don't have time to debate this with you. Wheeljack needs to have Telatran One back online in full working order and this place is vulnerable until it's been repaired. I need you here...end of discussion."  
  
The orange robot sulks but obeys his leader, "Oooh...alright, if I must.... Give them hell Autobots!"  
  
Optimus Prime steps back and raises his voice to them all, "Autobots, Transform! "  
  
Bumblebee instantly transforms back into his yellow Volkswagen Beatle mode, Windcharger converts into a dark red and grey-bottomed Mazda MX-5 Miata, and Brawn turns himself into a Land Rover Range Rover, army green in color with yellow trim around the bottom of him. Beside them stands Prowl who transforms into a black and white Porsche 911 Turbo Police Cruiser, then Bluestreak converts into a sliver/blue polished Subaru Impreza WRX STi, and then the Mini robot Gears transforms into blue, red and grey colored Smart Roadster-Coupe. Following their transformations, Hound returns to his army green Hummer mode again, Sideswipe transforms into his super sleek hot red Lamborghini Diablo GT, and his good buddy Sunstreaker converts into the doubly impressive yellow Pagani Zonda C12 S Hardtop Roadster with chrome polished rims and spoiler. Smokescreen stepped back and transformed into a BMW E46 M3 GTR with a large aerodynamic spoiler on the back, his decorative blue, white and red color scheme splashed all over his body with rally stickers and numbers detailing his whole frame. Ironhide transforms into a red Volkswagen Eurovan and Ratchet coverts himself into a European designed white Renault Ambulance, with large Red Cross icons on either side of him. Sparkplug hops into Jazz as he transforms into the rally version of a Sportec 996 GT2 SP650, complete with two parallel blue stripes running down from the top of his trunk to the tip of his hood. As they all sit there revving their engines, Optimus Prime looks over at them all, gazing at their new forms with pride, he places his large black cannon of a gun into an opening section of his leg and automatically retracts it back in. The large Autobot leader walks to the front of the line of his sleek car robots and transforms himself. He converts into a modern built tractor trailer, the red cab is square with the chrome grill flush to duel windshield sitting above it, and the long trailer behind is grey with long blue stripe decals that run to the very back. The Autobot symbol proudly sits on the side of either side of his trailer, almost like a bold graphic advertisement slapped on to promote his affiliation. Carly and Spike clime into Optimus Prime and sit back as they prepare to ride out with them all, Prime revs his engine and smoke billows out of his large chrome exhausts on either side of his cab form.  
  
"Roll Out!!" the leader shouts out to his convoy of Autobot soldiers.  
  
Leading the way, Optimus zooms out of the ship as the others quickly follow behind. Speeding out of the ship and racing down the mountainside, the mass of cars all make their way to the paved highway at the end of the valley. Huffer watches them drive off into the distance, nothing but a large cloud of dust trailing off outward. Wheeljack, standing behind him, pats the orange mini transformer on the shoulder.  
  
"Come on Huffer, we've got some repairing to do."  
  
Huffer sighs, "I battled through the streets of Iacon, survived a crash a million years later.... all just to sit on my butt to tinker with a computer."  
  
Wheeljack laughs and walks back into the ship, "Daaah, don't be such a downer, I'm sure they'll be plenty of Decepticons left on Cybertron for you to deal with when we get back."  
  
"Yeah...heh...Yeah! You're right Wheeljack, boy you sure know how to cheer me up!", Huffer says smiling.  
  
As he turns around to walk back inside the ship, the small dark Decepticon minidisk can be seen attached to the underside of his back head. Ravage has jumped from Hound and now sticks to Huffer; the Autobot walks back inside to help his friend without even knowing the Decepticons is stuck to him. Walking back into the bridge, Huffer helps Wheeljack remove a large panel below Telatran One, as he reaches down to lift, Ravage detaches himself from the Autobot and lands into the main computer's disk slot. Both are still unaware of the spy and continue to work on the damaged circuits below. The large screen above them however, seems to be flipping images of the strange satellite they had been looking at before and then quickly turned it off. Wheeljack stood up and looked at the blank monitor, for a moment he thought the screen was on, but shrugged his shoulders and leaned back down to keep fixing the computer.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Agent Connors and Drakemore step off of the large helicopter setting down near the remaining army forces, the other bulky helicopters carrying the secret weapon carefully place it on the ground and release the cables attached to it. The General comes walking out of his command tent and walks over to the two government agents who seem to be instructing their special outfitted troops coming off of the same helicopter they did. The General screams out to them over the loud noise of the choppers, it's almost hard to hear him at first, but Connors soon hears the old man yelling at them.  
  
"You'd better hope this contraption of yours works Mr. Connors...Those robots seem to thrive on carnage! Nothing we seem to throw at them is having any effect. I'm beginning to think Optimus Prime was right...maybe it's time we called them instead?"  
  
Connors stares him down wearing his dark sunglasses, "General, you'll beg my pardon when I say this isn't your decision anymore. I find it hard to believe you'd give up so soon, just proves to me that you're not the type of leader to command this mission at all!"  
  
"You son of a bitch!" The General curses at him, "How dare you question me! I just launched every American military resource available at these things and nothing is stopping them! It's going to take more then just our forces to bring them down...hell the whole world will have to launch a war against this menace!"  
  
Drakemore finishes instructing the special troops and walks over to the two men arguing, "We're ready to begin...sorry General, but this time we're going win a war our way."  
  
Connors runs over to the weapon and begins uncovering the thing for all to see. As the canvas drops to the ground, the reaction of the General and all the other soldiers standing near shows awe as it is finally revealed. The large black transport truck with monster sized wheels sits there like a beast waiting to be unleashed, the incredibly huge double barreled cannon sits on top of it's back structure and sticks out ahead of the transport as if it wasn't meant to be part of the vehicle. Just like the strange probe hanging in space above the Ark, it has the same texture and technology wrapped all around it. The thing looks like a giant black nightmare; tinted windows of red surround the side cab at the front of the monster transport, with a built-in ladder on the side to climb up to it. Never has the General, or any other military soldier has ever seen such a marvel, it was hard to imagine such a thing could be kept secret for so long. As the old crusty military leader looks at it more intensely, he notices the weapon sitting on it doesn't even look like it's built by human hands, in fact it looked somewhat alien in design to him. Drakemore stands back with the General and listens to the man rant on to him.  
  
"What is this?!" The General protests, "This is your big secret? And only one?! I've spent thousands of men, vehicles and flung ever arsenal I could to stop these things, and you come here with one weapon? Are you insane?!"  
  
"Calm yourself General. This weapon will definitely end this conflict for good..."  
  
The General laughs, "How can you sit there and be so smug about it? Have you even tested it to find out?"  
  
Drakemore just sighs and flinches his jaw, "Not really.... but there's no time like the present."  
  
"Damn you guys are a piece of work.", the military commander snickers, "You're gambling on all of our lives with this thing. I seriously think we need to go back and get some help.... we need the Autobots!"  
  
"NO!", Connors yells out to him from the machine, "We don't need their help! We're a goddamn species to be reckoned with, no metal aliens are going to come to our world and try to take over. Autobots or Decepticons...we'll have them all under our control and use the technology to build more weapons just like this. Project N is the best thing to happen to this planet since the invention of fire!"  
  
The old military man takes great concern from those harsh words Connors screamed out, "I thought.... I thought this was Project N? Are you telling me there's more to this Project?"  
  
The agent smiles, "More than meets the eye my dear General."  
  
That sent a shiver down the military man's spine, but as he feared for humanity from that one simple phrase the crazed agent spat out the roar of the engine began from the transport truck. A low, but powerful hum came out of it. Not the typical noise you'd hear from a combustion engine, it sounded more like a snap of energy whooshing through the air. Connors ran over to the long ladder and climbed up to the dwarf looking cab on top of the massive truck. Inside were two other black suited special soldiers manning computers on the left side and the right side as he climbed in. He took his seat and clamped on the criss-cross seat belt, in front of him was a large computer panel with many buttons that flickered and glowed. Usually a steering wheel would be there as he drove, but this secret weapon didn't seem to require it, a few taps on the flashing icons and the massive transport moved forward at a rather fast speed. The huge tires tore up the dirt and spewed it behind like someone digging their way through the Earth. Riding inside the machine, Connors looked at the entire military force retreating all around him, he was heading straight into the heart of the battle with this new weapon as the others were running for their lives. He kept his eyes forward, but tilted his head back to talk to the man sitting behind him on the other computer.  
  
"Is the weapon charged?"  
  
"We are go sir, weapon is charged and ready at your command!", the soldier says to him.  
  
"Good, raise the weapon and prepare to fire."  
  
The soldier behind him presses a few buttons and outside on the back, the large black weapon raises up off of the truck with a large extended arm. The messy looking collected technology all over it obscures its real shape, but it stretches out from the vehicle and targets a few of the Decepticon jets still attacking the retreating air force above. The computer screen shows the target it's aiming for and locks on to it. Connors looks on the monitor hanging down above his head and has a clear view of Skywarp targeted in red.  
  
"FIRE!"  
  
The black double barrel gun builds up a massive energy surge and quickly sends a parallel streak of blue energy towards the un-suspecting jet. It hits Skywarp and causes a massive explosion on his jet frame; the crippling blow sends the Decepticon hurling across the sky and then dropping like a rock down onto the ground. Thundercracker sees Skywarp fall and turns away from the fleeing convoy of human jets to swoop down and attack the large transport. Connors sees the jet coming in and targets him as well. The weapon fires again and causes the same damage to Thundercracker as it did to Skywarp. As Starscream turns around he watches the hurt jet fling past and just narrowly missing him on his way down to the earth. Connors smiles sitting inside his machine and now points his men to target the air commander next. The computer locks on to the transformed Decepticon and fires again, the look of surprise fills the robot's eyes as the blue energy wave strikes him right in the chest. Megatron, not paying attention to the skirmish, suddenly hears Starscream moaning as he plummets near by. Looking over to where the air commander crashed, he has a confused look on his face and turns around to see the black transport repeatedly shooting at his Decepticon soldiers.  
  
"Now what do we have here.... humans trying to destroy the Decepticons? They shall pay for their treachery!"  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Optimus Prime and the other Autobots are racing down the paved highway, their speed is fast and constant, but Spike nervously taps away sitting inside the leader, it doesn't seem fast enough for him. Carly sees Spike getting impatient and also becomes antsy.  
  
"Faster.... we must go faster Optimus...", Spike says to him.  
  
"I was just thinking the same thing my friend.", the Autobot leader says in agreement, " Time to kick it into overload. Autobots! Prepare for Trans- boost Drive! "  
  
Behind the massive speeding truck are a parade of flashy Autobot cars, all of them hear the leader's orders and respond to his command appropriately, " Yes, Sir!!"  
  
Hound and Prowl ride side by side, the two cars talk to each other as they prepare to increase their speeds.  
  
"Psst...Hey, Prowl? Where's Mirage? He wasn't in the line up...."  
  
Prowl whispers back to him, "I dunno, haven't seen him for awhile. You don't think he's gone ahead of us do you?"  
  
Hound sighs, "I doubt it, Mirage has a history of disappearing during a battle. Frankly I can't see why Prime even bothered to bring him along. Sounds to me like the guy has yellow spark in him."  
  
"It wouldn't be the first time an Autobot has chickened out. There were a lot back during the war, many took off to escape being drafted. Maybe...Maybe Mirage has lost his nerve again...", the black and white police Porsche says in a disappointed tone.  
  
The red mini Autobot, Cliffjumper hears their conversation from behind and speaks out, "Mirage ain't no coward! So pipe down there you chatty bots!"  
  
Hound tries to quiet the nosey red mini car, "Shhhh...Pipe down yourself there Cliffjumper! Ok then, if you don't think he's a coward then just where the heck is he then huh?"  
  
Cliffjumper remains silent for a second and grumbles, "Uhm.... well...he could be.... Ah who knows! Maybe your right...maybe he did sit this one out."  
  
"Face it guys...some Autobots are assembled fighters, some are just recycled cowards.", Prowl calmly states to them both.  
  
Cliffjumper revs up his engine and prepares to increase his speed, "Where did you hear that stupid phrase? You know, Kup would really lay into you for making that remark. Just be glad he isn't here to yell at you!"  
  
The black and white Porsche revs its engine, "Shut up Cliffjumper!"  
  
Optimus Prime raises his voice again to all of them, "Autobots.... Begin Trans-boost Drive.... NOW!"  
  
A sudden green glow appears all around each vehicle and as they all glow the whole caravan of them blur and warp down the roadway in a blink of an eye. The entire asphalt becomes super heated and glows, the only thing left visible on the highway is white-hot tire marks streaking down the road. Multiple sonic booms can be heard in the distance as the Autobots race towards the conflict that can be seen just at the horizon. Large billows of smoke and fire are rising up in the distance, almost like the reign of hell is stirring up down there.  
  
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The army continues retreating back towards the main campsite, the General sees the extent of the damage as the soldiers pour back in; the losses are heavy. Drakemore stands a few feet away from him and keeps his binoculars focused on his friend's progress out in the battle field, its as if he couldn't care less about the wounded and dying coming right past him. As the military commander walks back to his small outpost tent, he can hear a faint sound getting louder and as he looks over to see the direction it's coming from, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots appear in a flash of neon green light. Each one comes streaking out right behind Optimus Prime and begin to slow down as they approach the area. The General didn't know whom these vehicles belonged to or even that they were the Autobots, he had never seen them all in there vehicle modes, he instantly thought this was more of Connors secret weapons coming to help him out. As he and a few soldiers walked over to the lead tractor trailer coming to a stop, they were surprised to see Spike and a woman get out of it.  
  
"Spike? What the hell are you doing here?", the General demanded.  
  
Spike and Carly walked away from the red cab and demanded information out of him.  
  
"What's going on? Did you save the town? Are the people ok?", Spike yelled in a panic.  
  
Suddenly the truck they were riding in began to make a sound; it rose up and began to unfold sections of its body. Soon the large robotic figure of Optimus Prime stood over all of them, and behind him, the other Autobots also returned to their robot forms as well. The old military commander was taken back by it, fearing they had come to do harm. But as the surrounding soldiers took aim of their weapons, Prime spoke out and stretched out his hand.  
  
"Hold your fire! We've come to help!"  
  
Drakemore comes running over and screams at the Autobot leader, "We don't need your help Optimus Prime! We've got the situation under control, our weapon is working perfectly and will be rid of these alien monsters once and for all."  
  
Carly looks right at the man in the dark suit and sunglasses, "What about the town? Where are all the people?"  
  
"We couldn't save them in time miss, but they won't go unpunished for what they've done.", the agent says to her coldly.  
  
Spike and Carly grasp each other in comfort, all their efforts to bring help had failed, now things had become much worst. They gazed over at the human casualties, the crushed arsenal of the military and the retreating soldiers. Hope it seemed was becoming ever more distant to the two of them, the only ones to stop this madness now were the Autobots.  
  
"Uh.... Prime? You might want to have a look at this.", a gruff voice said to him.  
  
Looking down he saw Brawn gazing outward to the battle, his eyes were slightly sticking out and glowing bright blue, in his vision he can see the Decepticons trying to destroy the transport truck with the weapon on it. Prime raised his head in the direction also and his eyes began to glow a bright blue as well. Each transformer has the ability to use their eyes as an electro-telescopic viewer, a way to magnify their sight in order to see over vast distances. Prime's sight had a clear image of the weapon Connors and Drakemore had provided, the texture and design looked very similar to him, in fact it almost looked like the strange satellite hanging in Earth's orbit. He watched the weapon fire massive energy blasts at the Decepticons, it was far more powerful then any weapon he had seen humans use so far and far more advanced then anything they could produce.  
  
"I see it.", Optimus calmly stated. "The Decepticons are having a hard time stopping it and now...it looks like they're trying to make way for Megatron."  
  
"The fools!" Ironhide screams within earshot of Optimus, "They don't know who they're messing with!"  
  
Drakemore laughs, "He won't be a problem...so far we've managed to wipe out a good number of their forces. This...Megatron will be just as easy to dispose of."  
  
The Autobot leader's eyes stop glowing and he looks down at the small human, "No Drakemore.... it's about to get a whole lot worst."  
  
Out in the demolished ruins of the small town, Megatron stares down the on coming black vehicle, Decepticons are being shot left, right and center as each one goes hurling by the leader. The Constructicons try to block the path of the transport truck heading straight in, but also get caught in the massive energy blasts as it takes each one of them out. Starscream manages to regain consciousness and stands behind the leader who doesn't even budge as the shot reign past his head. The air commander holds his head and tries to shake off the deadly blow that was given to him.  
  
"Megatron...what...what happened? Where did those creatures get such a weapon?!"  
  
The Decepticon leader's eyes glowed a bright red as he watched the transport coming closer and closer.  
  
"I don't know.... but I will not be defeated by inferior creatures that use weapons they do not understand!"  
  
Megatron back flips in the air and transforms into his sliver polished berretta eight-millimeter hand gun mode, Starscream skillfully catches him and holds him like any other weapon given to him. The Decepticon laughs at Megatron's form, the once mighty leader that became a massive energy cannon was now a mere hand gun.  
  
"This is your new form? Bah-ahahahaha! Oooh how the mighty have fallen...", Starscream continually laughs.  
  
"Silence you fool!" The gun speaks out loud, "I do not enjoy taking this weak, human-made form of weapondary, but for now just do your job and take them out!!"  
  
Starscream smirks, "As you command.... mighty Megatron."  
  
The air commander outstretches his arm and aims the weapon at the transport Connors is riding in. On the monitor inside the firing transport, Connors calmly chuckles at the sight of Megatron's transformation.  
  
"This is the leader of a dangerous group of Robots? Bah! He'd be lucky if it did any damage at all.... keep firing! These guys are almost finished!!"  
  
Starscream holds his finger in the trigger and presses it back; a large red surge of power builds inside Megatron's long silencer attachment and releases a huge blast of energy that lights up the entire area. The streak of power hits the transport and explodes a few of its large front wheels. Inside the transport's cockpit, the men all shake about from it's deadly blow, the truck crashes down to the ground as it no longer has any front support and begins to slide along the dirt. A second shot from Megatron causes the vehicle to flip in the air as the explosion rips into the armored transport like a knife. It rolls along the ground, flipping, twisting and finally resting on its side. Victorious in the strikes, Megatron leaps out of Starscream's hand and returns to his robotic form. The leader gives an evil smile as he views the results, it seems that his smaller form is still as powerful as his old cannon form. But the thought of having to have someone hold him to attack is very un-appealing to him, it means that he will now have a weakness he did not have before, and he despises weakness in any shape or form. The human transport now lay in ruins, smoldering and set on fire, helpless as any other human craft they've attacked so far.  
  
"I did it! I defeated the humans greatest weapon!!" Starscream rejoices.  
  
Megatron quickly turns around, "What do you mean you? I am the one who crushed them!"  
  
"Not quite Megatron. For it was I who took aim and fired on them.... I should be hailed as the hero!"  
  
Megatron shook his fist at the air commander, very close to his face, "But it was I that gave you that opportunity Starscream! I am the weapon you welded to make this a success.... and I am the leader of the Decepticons not you!"  
  
Starscream becomes a bit threatened by the leader's anger towards him and gives him his praise, "Y-y-yes Megatron...You are the one that defeated them. I...I was mistaken."  
  
"I will only give you three warnings from now on Starscream.... consider this mistake number one. Questioning my leadership, I will have no more of it!", the leader says to the cowering robot.  
  
Starscream nods and backs away, Megatron walks over to the crippled vehicle and stands over it. Inside the damaged and slightly crushed cockpit, Connors and the other soldiers struggle to get out. The Decepticon leader bends down and picks up the front end, the men inside can feel the vehicle being lifted up and see a pair of red eyes peering in at them through the damaged windows.  
  
"Which one of you is responsible for this stupidity?", the leader demands.  
  
Bleeding and trying to free his leg from the metal pinning it down, Connors speaks out to the creature.  
  
"I am.... I...I demand that you surrender now, in the name of the people of the Earth! Anymore attempts to harm our kind and you shall.... you shall suffer dearly."  
  
Megatron chuckles calmly, "Such arrogance...You humans truly are as dumb as you look. Persist with me creature and I will make sure this planet dead by the time I leave it."  
  
Connors smirks, "Well see who takes out whom robot...You don't know who you're messing with."  
  
"Nor do you..." the evil leader squints, "Soundwave!!"  
  
The minidisk-carrying robot stands up and shakes his head as he regroups himself, "Yes...Megatron?"  
  
"Dispatch Laserbeak at once."  
  
Soundwave nods, "As you command.... Laserbeak, eject!"  
  
He presses the button on his top chest and the window compartment flips open, Laserbeak launches out in minidisk form and unfolds into his mechanical bird form. Laserbeak flies over to Megatrons left arm and attaches himself to it. The Decepticon leader smiles and positions his arm up to keep the bird level.  
  
"Ahh, Laserbeak...I have a new task for you...retrieve and fly up."  
  
The cybertronian bird squawks and flaps over to the transport cockpit, with its gripping robotic bird like feet, it rips open the cab top. The men scream inside as the bird cuts it open like tin, soon the foot reaches in and picks up Connors tightly. He yells in pain as he could feel a few ribs breaking from the Decepticons crushing grip, Laserbeak takes him and flies straight up into the air. As the bird reaches a certain height, it stops and hovers as it awaits Megatron's order as Connors strains to hear the Decepticon leader talk.  
  
"Now human...", Megatron chuckles, "Tell me exactly where you acquired that bit of technology. Tell me now...and I might just spare your hide for the time being."  
  
Connors was nearly passing out from the pain, but struggling to stay conscious, he refused to answer the question, "Drop Dead Robot!!"  
  
"You first...", the leader smirked, "Laserbeak.... release him!"  
  
The Decepticon bird opened its toes and the man began to drop down to the ground, he screamed in terror as he was falling to his death. A hand gesture from the evil leader sent the bird streaking down to pick up the man again, as it caught him, Laserbeak once again returned to the same height. Megatron once again chuckled at the human and shouted to the frightened Connors again.  
  
"Gravity is a harsh mistress flesh creature! Now this is your last warning.... where did you get that weapon from?"  
  
Connors, crying and slightly bleeding from his mouth, shook his head and refused, "Never...I'll never tell you. Scaring me won't make me talk.... nothing will!"  
  
Megatron frowns, "So be it. Laserbeak....drop him again."  
  
Once again the bird lets go and Connors falls to the ground, the man doesn't scream this time, he thinks the Decepticon leader will command the alien bird to pick him up yet again. But Megatron lifts up his large arm cannon and targets the human, as Connors falls to Earth, his face fills with dread as he hears Megatron's final words to him.  
  
"I despise humans!!"  
  
Megatron shoots his arm cannon and the large energy blast vaporizes the agent in mid-air. All that can be heard over the area is the man's blood curling scream as the energy cooks his body into ash. Megatron glances down at the armored transport again and looks at the other two frightened soldiers inside.  
  
"Laserbeak, prepare to retrieve another for target practice..."  
  
"Target on this Megatron!" a booming familiar voice yells out to him.  
  
As the Decepticon leader looks up, a blue energy blast strikes the leader down and makes him collapse to the ground. As the leader looks up, he sees his old enemy running towards him with his fellow soldiers, Optimus Prime and the Autobots. Stopping at a distance, Optimus Prime points to the fallen leader and points his weapon.  
  
"No! It...It can't be! You're Dead!!" Megatron yells in a panic stricken tone.  
  
Prime squints his eyes, "You wish Megatron."  
  
Decepticon leader stands up in disbelief; his greatest foe wasn't left for dead in the Ark, but is now standing there ready to fight him once more. Megatron sees his evil warrior brood rebuilding around him again, all of them fully recovered and standing ready to fight behind him.  
  
"Decepticons! Attaaaaaaack!!!" 


	9. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Nine – The Autobots Vs.The Deceptions  
  
Megatron's cry for battle sets the mood for the Autobots and Decepticons as they begin to open fire at one another, ducking for cover, Prowl, Brawn and Cliffjumper shoot at Soundwave, Rumble and Frenzy. All three Decepticons weren't ready for such a swift attack and desperately fired back at the group of Autobots that were managing to damage them. Starscream fires away at the various enemies and begins to fly up into the air with his other jet commandos.  
  
"Skywarp, Thundercracker! Transform and attack!"  
  
The three covert into their jet modes and begin to swoop in at the Autobots, all of whom do their best to dodge the multiple shots raining down. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe transform into their vehicle modes and race towards the many cloned duplicates of Reflector, their headlights retract in and soon reveal a pair of pulse blasters pointing outward. They shoot away at the clones and cause each one to decay and fall apart onto the ground. Reflector's clone drones are nothing more then nanotech- constructs that literally have no real substance. A special form of electromagnetism, holds them together solid to the touch and even as strong as the originals, but they lack a brain. The technology to achieve this replication took millions of years, just like the resizing and dimensional portal technology they all currently possess. Autobots and Decepticons have the ability to hide their extra parts or attachments into special pockets of time and space. Various forms of technology that has been the core of their civilization since the dawn of their creation, while some would question where it all goes or how it happens, the Cybertronians wouldn't think twice of it, much like any human would question folding a piece of paper and putting into their pockets. Reflector's clones are only temporary extra soldiers; once they are no longer needed they are re- absorbed back into Reflector until the next time. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe have a ball shooting down each one, for them it's not only target practice, but also a competition between them.  
  
"Four...Five.... Six...hey I'm beating you here Sunstreaker!!" Sideswipe laughs as the shoots.  
  
Sunstreaker takes out a few he missed and moans, "Give me a break will ya Sideswipe...I don't want to ruin my new look. This dirt is murder on my paint job!"  
  
Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp all fly down low as they shoot at the Autobots on the ground, lasers blasting and rockets being fired, they almost clear the way as they nearly touch the ground and head straight up for the sky again. Bluestreak and Smokescreen rise from the smoke and dust the jets disturbed and nod to each other as if they both know what to do next. Together they leap into the air and clamp onto both Thundercracker and Skywarp, Bluestreak holds on tight as he tries to bring down the F-18 Blue Angel Decepticon jet and Smokescreen bashes the butt of his gun down onto the hull of the Black F-22 Raptor.  
  
"Your flight has been cancelled boys! Time to be grounded back into reality!" Smokescreen yelps atop of Skywarp.  
  
Bluestreak holds on tight to Thundercracker and laughs, "Looks like we got ya by the nosecone Decepti-jerks!"  
  
"Get off of me you little twerp!", The Blue F-18 yells at the Autobot.  
  
The weight of them causes the planes to crash into the ground, both Autobots flip off gracefully as they avoid the impact and touch back onto the ground with relative ease. Both give a smile and raise their thumbs up in approval at each other's accomplishments. Hound and Bumblebee are surrounded by the Constructicons as they try to ram the two lone Autobots. Hound fires his shoulder missile and causes three of them to get damaged, the mini-bot Bumblebee fires his hand held weapon at the charging Scrapper as he tries to take the small robot down.  
  
"You think you can harm me you tiny dot! I'll steamroll you to oblivion!" the Constructicon leader shouts to the small yellow Autobot.  
  
Hound looks over and sees Bumblebee is in grave danger; he activates his shoulder hologram projector and makes Bumblebee look as if he's growing five times his size. Scrapper halts in his tracks as he sees the robot growing and becomes startled by the trick Hound is creating. Bumblebee realizes what his Autobot friend is doing and plays it for all it's worth.  
  
"Sooo I'm a dot am I? ", the yellow robot aims his now large looking weapon at the green front scooping construction vehicle and watches the Decepticon reverse fast as he screams in fear.  
  
As the Decepticon moves backward, Gears comes up from behind and fires his weapon at him. The explosion creates a crater and the green Constructicon falls in.  
  
"Gaaaahhhh!" Scrapper screams as he drops in.  
  
Gears pats his weapon with pride, "Heeheh, just like old times...nothing beats the RTB-05 pulse rifle."  
  
Jazz, the white Sportec 996 GT2 SP650 with two dark blue stripes streaked across his top vehicle mode, drives wildly through the battle and keeps a close speed with Starscream above him. As he finally sees air commander turning to attack him on the ground, he quickly transforms into his robot mode and aims his all-white hand weapon at the incoming jet. In his blue visor like eye, he gets a target lock on the rapid firing Decepticon and smirks at him.  
  
"Starscream...this number one hit is just for you man!"  
  
His finger pulls the trigger and a bright blue laser goes streaking up towards the air commander, it impacts on his right wing and causes the Decepticon to spiral and flip out of control. Almost hitting the ground, Starscream quickly pulls up and recovers from the near fatal crash. He climbs up back to the sky and transforms in the sky.  
  
"You'll have to do better then that Autobot! Have a taste of my Null Rays you waste of metal!"  
  
The Decepticon rapidly fires his two side arm cannons at the slick looking Jazz, who dives to the ground and rolls as each blast just nearly misses him. Spinning back around, the white and black looking Autobot holds up his weapon and continues to fire at the ballistic hovering Decepticon.  
  
"A little too bland for my taste Starscream...have some of my Jazz-tastic blaster shots to kick it up a notch! BAM!"  
  
On the other side of the battle, Optimus Prime shoots away at Megatron from a fair distance, and the evil leader stands there doing the same. Each shot is just narrowly missing one another; the red energy blasts rushing by Prime's head and the blue streaks of the Autobot leader's weapon just skimming off of Megatron's shoulder. The two continue to scream out to one another as the battle heats up.  
  
"I don't know how you managed to survive Prime...But I'm going to make sure you stay dead this time!"  
  
Prime laughs in a smug tone, "You're beginning to sound like a broken data rod Megatron...always skipping to the same phony line. Guess that crash damaged your brain more than you thought...or...have you always been broken?"  
  
The Decepticon leader screamed in anger from Optimus's insult and lowered his arm cannon. Instead he rushed over, kicked Optimus Prime's gun out of his hand and tackled the Autobot leader to the ground. The evil leader pummeled his fists into Prime's face and chest, like a wild man gone mad; he kept thumping into the Autobot leader as he screamed.  
  
"I'll show you broken Optimus!! You're kind is extinct! Deleted! Demolished! And now you and the remaining Autobots will be the final scrap heaps to do away with!!"  
  
Hearing Megatron's rant and grating crazed laugh put Optimus in a most foul mood, the punches were hard enough to feel, but hearing him spew off that his kind were finished gave him the strength to counterstrike. Prime managed to bring his arm up, clench his fist hard and gave Megatron a side belt across the face that flung him into the air. The evil leader crashed a few feet way from Prime, but as he rose holding his jaw, he looked over and saw the Autobot leader running over to him. A swift kick to the gut from Optimus Prime caused Megatron to fly up into the air again and come crashing down onto his back. The evil leader could feel the pain being sent to his various internal workings, Optimus Prime was always a strong opponent, and no one else had ever come close to actually harming him before. And as he looked up to see the Autobot ready to continue the fight, Megatron rose up and acted like it didn't even hurt him. Weakness, he never wanted to show it, not to his men, not to himself and certainly not in front of inferior flesh creatures who have been trying to destroy him. As he was about to take a step, Optimus Prime called out to him.  
  
"Megatron!! Stop! Don't move..." Prime screamed out in a worried tone.  
  
Megatron was confused, he stood there with leg arched and his foot dangling, as he looked down below it, he saw what Optimus Prime was so worried about. A wounded human soldier laid there unable to get out of the way of their brawl, bleeding and in need of medical attention, the poor man was helpless as the shadow of Megatron's foot was cast over him. Megatron smiled and gave a chuckle at Prime's foolish compassion. There it was again, weakness, Optimus Prime always has a soft spot for lesser life forms and any other non-Cybertronian life for that matter. The Decepticon leader always knew that would be Prime's downfall, these humans were the perfect leverage for him to exploit the Autobot's sense of compassion.  
  
"Why? Why should I or you for that matter be concerned for such weak little things?"  
  
"Megatron...don't do it...I'm warning you." Prime says to him in a threatening manner.  
  
"Warn me?! How about this Optimus...You back off from me or I'll crush this pathetic human and any others laying around the area!"  
  
Megatron looked out across the plains of the battle-ravaged area, he saw numerous humans all still moving about and trying to get back to the main campsite. The Decepticons that were fighting the other Autobots all had one near by each of them, so Megatron smiled again and called out to them all.  
  
"Decepticons! Cease-fire!! Fine a human and prepare to shoot it or crush it under your foot!!!"  
  
Optimus looked around and was surprised to see that all did as they were instructed; each Decepticon soldier ended the weapons fire at the Autobots and targeted the humans near by. The jets transformed back onto the ground and aimed their weapons, while others still standing around made ready to step on them just like Megatron was. The Autobot leader had to stop his men from attacking or else the humans would be hurt.  
  
"Autobots!! Hold your fire!! Nobody attack them!"  
  
The Autobots did as they were told as well; they all kept their weapons poised at the various Decepticons, but saw the helpless Earthlings being threatened by each evil robot soldier. It looked like a stand off, nobody was moving at all, but everyone was eyeing the other. Prime turned back to Megatron and saw the grinning monster looking straight through him.  
  
"Sooo, you have a weakness after all Prime. You actually care for these beings? And to think I always believed you'd do whatever it takes to bring me down, but now I see your no better then any other leader before you."  
  
Optimus kept his eyes right on Megatron, "This is between you and I Megatron, how many worlds have perished from your lack of respect for life? Preserving life is no weakness; it is a strength that is well beyond your comprehension. There's no need to harm these poor beings..."  
  
The Decepticon leader laughs, "Oh Prime you idiot! Look around you...see what these beings have done to themselves already. They war as we do, but they lack the intelligence to control what they create, that weapon over there is a direct example why these...things...shouldn't be allowed to live! They are a menace to be wiped out...just like you and all the Autobots. You're weak, just like all these other flesh creatures, Cybernetic beings are the true rulers of the universe.... everything else is ours to do as we please. Whole galaxies at our disposal and you worry about the puny lives of stupid creatures? Cybertronains are much more advanced, why don't you see our greatness for what it is? How many times have I seen you Autobots lower yourselves to inferior factions, being gentle and merciful to other creatues other then your own kin. I would have embraced you as brothers if you had only seen the true potential and joined our side, to live as we should, to be the dominant life and all of them as our slaves!"  
  
Optimus Prime shook his head, "I would have welcomed all of you to ours as well, Primus wanted all of us to live in harmony, to live as one speices of Cybertron and expand our horizons as we journey through the stars...but not at the expense of other life forms. What you want is chaos and tyranny...That is not what we were ment for. You've become too power hungry, too decedent, too set in your evil ways and I fear that in the end...Cybertron will pay the ultimate price for it. No Megatron...your twisted slant on Primus's teachings is not how we should go about. He wanted us to communicate peace, understanding, compassion.... for that is what will bring us all back as one."  
  
"Really Prime.... you speeches are so overdone it makes me wonder how you ever became leader of your kind. And I'm bored of it. I swear to you I will kill all of these beings if you do not leave right now and not return here again! If I so much as see a vehicle of any sort...I will kill every last one of them!"  
  
The human under Megatron's foot is scared and nervously looking over at the giant Autobot, in the human's eyes he can see the terror of losing his life. Optimus Prime always has to make split decisions, war is nothing but full of those split decisions and even though this will be a major set back to their cause, it is the right decision to make...life...all and any life is too precious to be wasted like this. The Matrix of Leadership would not have chosen him if he didn't respect such life, all leaders that carry it need that wisdom and moral ethic if they are to be the destined leader of the Autobots and Cybertron. But over the millions of years, the Decepticons have reshaped it's meaning to what they believe is right, why should they bow to other races? They are the pinnacle of sentient life...all life should bow to them.  
  
"Give me your word Megatron....", Prime sighs under his breath, "You won't harm any of them if we leave you alone here."  
  
The evil leader folds his arms as he still stands there ready to crush the man below his foot, "I will at least give you that honor...one warrior to another. I shall promise not a hair on their tiny inferior heads will be harmed if you leave this area and never come back."  
  
Everyone around the battlefield awaits Prime's response, Decepticons, Autobots and even the humans sitting helpless listen to hear what Optimus Prime will say back. Once again the Autobot leader sighs with failure.  
  
"Then...we shall do as you ask. But know this Megatron...the battle is not over yet, one way or another we will end this once and for all."  
  
"I don't think so Prime...I intend to keep these humans around until our ship is complete, as a reassurance that you will not interfere. And tell those foolish human soldiers that as well...no more surprises or they will feel my wraith!", the Decepticon leader says clenching his fist.  
  
Optimus Prime stood erect and raised his hand, "Autobots! Transform and....and....Retreat."  
  
The shock in every Autobot soldier's face was precious to the Decepticons; a big defeat for their sworn enemies and all it took was a threat to step on some stupid humans. Victory was very, very sweet to them all. Transforming back into his tractor-trailer, Optimus Prime led the others back out with him. Each Autobot transformed and slowly left the area, the last one to leave was Bumblebee and as he looked back he could see the many disappointed faces of each wounded human soldier they were leaving behind. The image was burned into his mind and couldn't help but feel ashamed of what they were doing, but then again, he didn't know what else to do. Transforming into his yellow beetle mode, he continued off into the distance with Prime and the others. Megatron watched with delight, lowering his foot away from the human and laughing in his usual maniacal tone.  
  
Unknown to all parties, high above in space orbiting the Earth, the strange satellite peered down on their location. The black orb-like eye on the bottom of it seemed to be almost staring down like a shark viewing its prey at a distance. Somewhere in a secret location, a man in total shadow watches the everything being viewed on the various monitors in front of him, some have still images of both Optimus Prime and Megatron in a profile look, while the main large screen in the center watches the entire battle area as it happens. The chair he is sitting in is dark and wide, so much so it would be hard to make out who is in it as you see it from behind. The whole surrounding room he's in is dark and shadowy; no real depth to it can be made out as the darkness covers everything around him. One light source from above shines down like a spotlight, and as mysterious man watches the screens a male voice speaks beside him.  
  
"Sir it's the President...he wants to know if launching the nuclear weapons will be a good idea at this point and time.", the low calm male voice states to the person in the chair.  
  
The shrouded figure's hand appears from the concealed view and presses a button on the side of it. A panel of built in buttons are sitting on the side arm all flashing red and green, as he taps one of the buttons a quick snap of sound fills the room. The man in the chair can be heard after the low toned beeping noise comes on.  
  
"This is N Leader Mr. President...I don't think that would be a wise idea at this time."  
  
"I've seen the spy satellite images as well N Leader.... we need to end this quickly! I will not let this country, nor the American public to be held hostage by these...these.... robots!", The President says in a angry voice over the booming intercom-phone.  
  
The mysterious man just sighs, "And if you launch them we'll have quite the explaining to do to the rest of the world...they are watching Mr. President. How shall we tell them that you decided to destroy valuable technology that America was willing to share with them? Hmm? Be calm..."  
  
The President becomes furious, "Valuable technology?? I'm talking about lives damnit! To hell with the technology! This is going well beyond human morals and I for one will not allow you to proceed...do you hear me?"  
  
"Mr. President...tell me...how is your lovely wife? She's somewhere in Africa right now isn't she? It would be a shame if something were to happen to her..."  
  
The President's voice wavers, "You.... you wouldn't dare."  
  
The man in the chair chuckles, "Wouldn't I? I'd be sure to give the information to the media on who exactly gave the order to kill her...a few witnesses, some well placed pictures and even recorded phone records. Hmm? Come, come sir, you know I have always given you everything you wanted...after all, I took care of your opposition didn't I? You're now the President and not him correct? Don't worry about any of this anymore...From now on, I will make all the big decisions. Just enjoy your term and look important...the welfare of the world is no longer your responsibility. Now...hang up, I've got work to do. Oh, but do be sure to give your young blonde intern...oops...I mean your wife in Africa my best regards."  
  
"Rot in hell asshole." The President remarks for the last time and hangs up the phone.  
  
Sighing in his deep dark chair, the shadowy man pivots it slightly to his right to talk to the other person beside him hanging by in the shadows.  
  
"Such manners...I shall have to find a new President when this is all over, one that does as he's told. So the weapon didn't work. What a shame. We'll have to try something much different, alert Area 51 and get it ready for the next development. We have more weapons to construct if we're going to handle these creatures."  
  
Stepping within the light, we now see the person that was talking to him from out of the shadows, Agent West, the man who greeted Drakemore and Connors at the base. Looking down at the seated hidden man, he expressed his concern to him.  
  
"What about the Autobots and the Decepticons? They might get suspicious about the weapon we've left there...."  
  
"Let them...", the mystery man snickers, "It will only confuse them more until our next weapon is designed. As to this war, I'm interested to see how it will unfold. Let the Decepticons do as they will; it will give me opportunity to study the Autobots in action. Optimus Prime is proving to be very predictable in his thought patterns.... but Megatron.... yes Megatron...he's very interesting to me. A most unpredictable robot...he had the chance to kill all those humans laying about on the ground, but instead spared the humans. Why? Because he gave Prime his word? There's something more going on in that robot's brain...."  
  
As he looks back at the monitor, he begins tapping the keyboard buttons on the table in front of him and enlarges the picture of Megatron's face.  
  
"Something more indeed. The look of a mind constantly planning ahead...a ruthless, cunning warrior...unafraid to do what is nessessary."  
  
The Agent clears his throat, "And...Connors sir?"  
  
The secretive man sighs again, "A stupid idiot that rushed into things. Recall Mr. Drakemore back to base, I don't want the Autobots questioning him..."  
  
"Yes sir." West nods and walks off back into the darkness again.  
  
Now alone with the images on the screen, the shrouded figure laughs somewhat like a giggling insane man alone in the dark room. The image of Megatron is still in full blown up view on the monitors and looking as if he's staring right back at the man.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Optimus Prime and the other Autobots ride up towards the General and his remaining forces. Spike and Carly see how slowly the group is moving and fear for the worst. Sparkplug and Ratchet turn to see them coming and walk over to the transforming bunch as they come to tell them all the grave news.  
  
"Megatron has hostages." Optimus Prime says to them.  
  
"Well ain't that just peachy...", the General bluntly states, "You were supposed to be able to stop him and his thugs and you come back here to tell us he's got our men? I am not impressed with you robot!"  
  
Optimus Prime leans down close to the small man and stares at him with anger, "I'm not to impressed with you either...Human! If you had listened to my advice earlier we wouldn't be in this situation right now, the fact is General...your men are safe...for now."  
  
Ratchet grabs hold of Prime's shoulder to back him off from the General, "Easy Prime...what happened out there?"  
  
"We had the advantage and the perfect space to finish them off...but there were to many human causalities laying about, Megatron used them as a bargaining chip. He knows all to well that I will not endanger life...not even those who don't respect it themselves."  
  
His words carried down to the General and saw he caught his meaning. Sparkplug came up behind Spike and Carly and rested his hands on their shoulders, they all looked up at Optimus and continued to listen to him speak.  
  
"I should have secured the area more, I didn't realize they'd be so many of them laying about...now they've got a foot hold on launching site and will continue to build their vessel. You people have made things much worst, Megatron will not tolerate another stupid attack you're military made against him, he's demanded all of us pull back immediately out of his sight."  
  
The General snickered, "Yeah right, I'm not leaving my men to die out there. We'll regroup and start a whole new attack strategy...this time it will be right!"  
  
"Perhaps you didn't hear him General!" Ironhide walks up after finishing repairs to a human transport vehicle, "You guys got busted and Megs' ain't gonna stand for that crap anymore! If you re-launch your attack, he'll kill all your men and wipe out your entire forces properly this time. I wish I could have gone in there with you Optimus, I would have finished that oversized tin plated wacko in no time flat!"  
  
Prime chuckled at Ironhide's comments, "I don't doubt it for a second Ironhide, but we needed you and Ratchet to stay behind and help the humans. Speaking of which...how are they Ratchet?"  
  
The med-bot shakes his head and folds his arms together, "I'm not a human doctor Optimus, but...they're in bad shape. Telatran One downloaded all the files on their anatomy and treatment into my memory banks, but I'll admit that I'm not the skilled surgeon to do the operation. I think I should help them carry the wounded back to their military base, its bout as good as I can do to help any of them right now."  
  
Prime nods, "Agreed, you help the humans as much as you can Ratchet, we'll call you if the situation requires you."  
  
The medical robot transforms into his Ambulance form and drives over to the area loading up the wounded soldiers, the General looks over at Spike, Carly and Sparkplug and walks over to them. He stands there proudly and looks at each one of them.  
  
"Now then...what are we going to do with the three of you? Spike and Sparkplug...you're charged with interference and government conspiracy. And Carly...I'm sure a good long questioning at the base will make you see the light."  
  
"Oh come on General." Carly says rolling her eyes, "This is not the time to act all anal...you do realize that this was a major public fiasco? I'm sure the media has seen the explosions and heard about your mass movement of troops. They're probably already on their way or even taking pictures of us right now."  
  
The General grinds his teeth as he chews on the fact that the young woman was absolutely right, he sighs for a moment and lowers his head.  
  
"What do you think Mr. Drakemore? Mr. Drakemore?"  
  
As the military man whips his head around to look at the man, he notices Drakemore isn't even standing near by, but is sitting on a helicopter preparing to lift off. The General's eyes grow large with anger as he yells out to the agent to come over to him. But the dark eyes of the agent's sunglasses give no hint that he's even paying attention to the General anymore. As the old commander runs over to stop them from taking off, the helicopter rises off the ground and begins to head off into the desert-mountainous horizon. Standing there in the flying dust and backwash from the chopper, the General sourly stares at the massive helicopters leaving him behind to deal with everything. Sparkplug watches the military commander and pities him.  
  
"I think General...you've been fired."  
  
Optimus Prime doesn't pay attention to any of the men, nor of Drakemore's helicopters flying off yonder. Instead he talks to the rest of his Autobot brethren standing by, feeling ashamed and cheated of a victory. As he approaches them all, the men line up in order and salute him, he is still their commander and chief, after serving with him as leader for so long...now is not the time to question his motives. Prime looks at all of them and gives them a speech of encouragement.  
  
"Autobots...Megatron handed us a dirty tactic, it's just the typical spineless attempt I've come to expect from his sort. What we did...had to be done, unlike the Decepticons, we respect life in all forms and all sizes. He has those poor humans at his mercy for now, but we will not let him use them as bartering chips for his own goals. He'll have time to build his ship...so we'll let him. We promised we wouldn't go near the area he's in... And we won't, but he needs to get energy and that's where we'll strike him. Retreating back to The Ark will be a hard thing to do for so many of you, but to create the false illusion that we're doing as he wanted will make it easier to target his men as they come out."  
  
Optimus paces back and forth as the men all stare at him walking past, so too do the human troops trying to gather they're supplies and boarding their vehicles. His words ring true to each of them as the all listen, as the General stood there with his head hung low, he too listened to the stirring words Prime was giving out.  
  
"We'll not let those poor humans be left to die at the hands of Megatron, we'll not stand idlely by while he tries to build a ship to return to Cybertron, and we will certainly not let him take this planet's energy to win the war!" Prime continues to bark out at them, "Autobots...Brothers...My dearest friends. I feel your frustrations about all this, I only ask you to believe I'm doing this for the right reasons and that you'll continue to have faith in my leadership. If anyone feels otherwise, or has any comment to make...I'm listening."  
  
A hush falls among the Autobot soldiers; they all turn to glance at one another to see if anyone will speak out, sure enough, Ironhide steps forward and raises his hand. Optimus Prime's eyes dim slightly, but knowing that he'd be open to any suggestion at all, he gives a gentle nod to his old southerly sounding friend.  
  
"I just wanna say this...We all had our doubts about you from the very beginning Optimus. When you took over as leader during the war, we all felt our doom was surely coming...but you managed to keep us all busy and fight back with all our hearts. When the impossible situations sprang up...you made us beat it back down into submission. You are without a doubt the finest leader any of us have seen in a long, long time. And ah...even though we get into now and then...I still think you're the man for the job. I guess what I'm saying is that...well...just give us the command and we'll follow you anywhere. Sir!"  
  
The Autobot leader's eyes beamed with joy at Ironhide's flattery, even more so when the robotic soldiers all saluted him again and smiled. The General raised his head and felt rather humbled by the Autobot's loyalty to their leader; it was strange to hear such honor among non-terrestrial beings and even stranger that he lacked to give it to his own kind. These soldiers would fight the minute he'd ask and even die for him if necessary, the General was now starting to feel very ashamed of his own behavior. Human life is more important then the wonders of technology, he was saving America for all the wrong reasons and serving the wrong people who have their own agendas. Looking up at Optimus Prime made him remember what freedom, liberty and justice for all truly meant all over again. It only took a massive red transforming robot to make him believe that goodness still exists in hearts of those who seek peace no matter the cost.  
  
"I thank you my friends..." Prime says cheerfully, "Now lets go back to the base and figure out a way to save the humans...stop the Decepticons and go home to free our own world again!"  
  
The General finishes listening to the Autobot leader and walks over to his awaiting Hummer, he sits in the passenger side and driver beside him looks over, "General, we've been ordered by the President to return back to base and await further instructions."  
  
The old military commander rubbed the gold stars on his left shoulder and sighed as he thought about things, "How many more stars will it take to wash my sins clean? How many more mistakes will happen, as my men die a hopeless battle? My God, where is my humanity? Where are my morals? These robots come and they're more human than I..."  
  
The driver sits there confused, "Uhm...Sir? Are you ok?"  
  
"No. I'm not ok, neither is this whole damn war we're starting." The General stops rubbing his gold metals and straightens up, "Screw the damn President! Follow those Autobots back to their ship..."  
  
The driver stares at him with great concern, but the military commander just looks back at him with conviction, "Well, just don't sit there looking at me like I've lost my marbles...I gave you a direct order Sergeant!!"  
  
The man turned back to his steering wheel and started the car; nervously he smiled and gave him a loud answer, "Sir, Yes Sir!"  
  
Looking out the side window, the General could see Optimus Prime facing away from his robot warriors and giving them one last order as they head out.  
  
"Autobots, Transform and Rollout!"  
  
The large red and blue robot converted back into his truck cab mode, the large back trailer popping out of its hidden pocket of space-time and reconnecting to him. The other Autobots all transform back into their vehicle modes and follow right behind the leader as he quickly pulls out back towards the main road. Together they all leave, Autobots and humans, as they make their way back to the ship embedded in the mountainside. The large convoy of trucks, cars, and many other military vehicles produces large dirt clouds that signal to the Decepticons across the terrain that Prime has kept his word. Megatron looks at the fleeing group and chuckles to himself.  
  
"So predictable Prime. You truly are weak when it comes to winning a war."  
  
"So Megatron...what are we really going to do with these creatures?" Starscream asks standing behind him.  
  
Megaton turns around, "As we agreed Starscream. No harm will come to these humans, that's the promise I made to Optimus Prime."  
  
The air commander looks confused at the Decepticon leader as he walks by, "What? You truly are going to keep your word mighty leader?"  
  
"That's right Starscream, I intend to keep these humans as long as I can. It will give us the needed protection of this area until our ship is fully built and fueled. Optimus Prime won't rush in to harm them and the human military will not make such a foolish attempt again."  
  
Starscream follows the leader as he walks over to the group of humans who now have been collected and placed together as Rumble, Frenzy and Skywarp keep their weapons pointed at them. Megatron stops to look down at the prisoners and gives a simple smirk as he gazes at their fearful faces.  
  
"Such heroics would threaten these poor dumb creatures...might even make us a bit trigger happy. So if they don't keep back and hold up their part of the bargain...we'll have our selves a few targets to shoot."  
  
The evil leader laughs as the mention causes the people below to shiver, Starscream begins to laugh with the leader, as do all the other Decepticons. Like a group of huge metallic bullies, they taunt the humans with their laughter and poke at them with the ends of their guns. Soundwave walks over to Megatron as they all continue to enjoy the moment, the only Decepticon not laughing, as he is too busy with other things on his mind.  
  
"Megatron! The new ship blueprints are ready..." the robot says in his wavering monotone electronic voice.  
  
The leader brings his laughter to a slow end and nods to his loyal officer, "Very good Soundwave. Now we must look for a source of energy to fill our hunger and rebuild Cybertron."  
  
Soundwave instantly projects a holographic screen in front of them, slightly see through on the whole, but readable to anyone viewing it on either side. On the holo-screen are images of various human made hydro plants, nuclear weapons, oil refineries and natural energy producing resources. As they all scroll along, Soundwave talks about the various places to visit.  
  
"There are numerous facilities and natural resources for us to collect the energon from. There are several nuclear power plants near by and a few oil fields, there is even a large human constructed dam near by."  
  
Megatron almost drools at the many places they could plunder; this was a world rich in energy and just where he needs to be in order to stockpile energon. He looks at the images with a greedy face, wrenching his hands as if he's hit the jackpot and doesn't know where to begin.  
  
"Where is this dam? It looks rather large...a few modifications and some extra water pressure would produce a sizable quantity of energon don't you think? "  
  
The blue robot looks down and points to the image as it pops up full screen, "Sherman Dam is capable of producing the required energy output...if we can bring the generators to full capacity it should be able to fill one energon cube every one point two Deco-quads of energy."  
  
Megatron places his hands on his hips, "Excellent...this world is too good to be true. Such energy, such raw untapped energy! When we get back to Cybertron, I will send a legion of ships here to restock all of this and suck the very life out of this planet until it runs dry!" 


	10. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Ten – The Search For Energy  
  
Wheeljack and Huffer continue to work on Telatran One back inside the Autobot ship called The Ark, finally they finish up and prepare to restart the computer again. As Huffer rises up from the console he just finished repaired, he looks over to the far side of the room and sees Wheeljack closing his massive console panel as well.  
  
"Well that's it...Telatran One is back online and running smooth again." Wheeljack proclaims, "Now...time to wake this computer up and figure out where everyone is."  
  
Huffer rubs his forehead and sighs relief, "Thank goodness, I was about to go haywire from all this hard work. I hope you fixed everything correctly Wheeljack."  
  
Wheeljack laughs, "We'll soon find out lil' buddy. Hit the restart will ya?"  
  
Huffer walks over to the main controls and presses the large square button Wheeljack was talking about. As soon as he hit it, a massive power surge within the computer itself forcefully ejected Ravage who was still lodged inside. The minidisk spy whimpered from the blast Telatran One gave to the Decepticon and quickly transformed beyond Huffer's head as he went flying out. Huffer was caught off guard by the Decepticon cat's appearance, he stood there speechless as Ravage leaped across and began running out the bridge door behind him. Wheeljack saw everything happen and quickly shouted to Huffer.  
  
"Ravage!! Huffer! Just don't stand there like a lummox! Go after him!!"  
  
Huffer snapped out of his stupor transforming quickly into his orange truck cab mode, he was smaller in design to Optimus Prime and had a few minor differences in the way his truck form looked. Still he one advantage to being smaller, he was faster and without a back trailer lumbering behind him, he could easily catch up to the fleeing Decepticon. Still Ravage sprinted fast down the long ship corridor and looked back every now and then to see how far he was being followed. The flashing red lights and the blaring alarms filled the ship in every corridor and room, booming in the background was Telatran One's voice alerting all throughout the vessel there was a Decepticon intruder. As Ravage went rushing by, a door opened on the sidewall and out stepped Trailbreaker, the bulky looking black and chromed robot caught a quick glimpse of the intruder and looked confused as to what was happening. Huffer saw Trailbreaker standing there and shouted out to him as he was trying to stop the fast black cat.  
  
"Don't let him get away Trailbreaker! It's Ravage!!"  
  
The large black Autobot didn't even have to think twice, he ran down the hall and saw the Decepticon almost reaching the open bay door leading outside.  
  
"Oh no you don't...time to block your only way out!"  
  
The minute he finished saying that, his shoulder mounted chrome-looking device shot out a massive energy pulse that streaked over to the large doorway and covered the whole thing in it's electric plasma green glow. Ravage hit this strange pulsating energy and bounced off of it like a rubber wall. Trailbreaker laughed at the bouncing kitty as he watched it repeatedly trying to break through it, his running became a slow walk as he approached the frantic Decepticon. Huffer finally reached them both and quickly transformed into his robot mode again, he took out his gun from a panel opening behind his back and pointed it at the intruder.  
  
"Don't you move a muscle Ravage...I got my blaster aimed straight at your head! Just give me a reason to blow it clean off!"  
  
The black cat stopped in its tracks and stood there growling at the two Autobots, Trailbreaker used his arm cannon to launch a energon cage and trap the Decepticon in its place. Most transformers have arms that are built in cannons, often they come in handy when there's no hand weapon to be found, instead of having a regular arm and hand they have a large blaster arm that channels from their power directly. Trailbreaker manages to use it for mainly making force fields or a last resort when no other weapon is available; a master at creating them, force fields are his specialty. Now that Ravage is caught, his energy force field surrounding the large main door dissipates as the time collapses of its use.  
  
"There we go...one black cat, never to trouble our path again. Good thing I stayed behind."  
  
Huffer looks up at him confused, "Hey ya...where the heck were you? I could have joined the others if I'd known you were still here. Weren't you in the line up? "  
  
"Nope...I asked Optimus to let me finish making repairs to the sick bay incase they need it. I'm more wondering where Mirage is...haven't seen him for a long time either."  
  
Huffer lets out a snicker, "I'll bet he's looking for a new place to live. I don't trust that guy...on one hand he wants to stop Megatron and the Decepticons, but on the other, he doesn't want to fight anymore. Sounds like a pure coward if you ask me."  
  
"Yeah..." the big bulky black robot sighs, "Although he's a good guy, saved my hide a few times during the war...just not much of a fighter I think. I've heard him ramble on about the good ol' days of Cybertron, when he was just a courier racing back and forth between cities. Remember Huffer, not all of us were born warriors you know. Just give the guy a break and he'll prove his worth to the team..."  
  
"Whatever Trailbreaker.... I'll believe it when I see it."  
  
Suddenly Optimus Prime's voice is heard over their built in radio receivers, they all hold up their hands to their heads to activate their transceivers.  
  
"Optimus to base! Optimus to base! "  
  
Trailbreaker responds to the leader by talking back with his built in microphone inside his head, "Base to Prime...this is Trailbreaker, we're receiving you Optimus Prime, over."  
  
"Trailbreaker...prepare that sick bay and get ready for human casualties. Tell Huffer and Wheeljack to finish fixing Telatran One as soon as possible!"  
  
Huffer opens a comm-link to the Autobot leader, "This is Huffer Prime.... we've finished repairs and T-1 is A-OK again!"  
  
"Good work Huffer, as soon as we arrive I want all personnel to assemble in the bridge. It's time we figure out what our next plan of attack will be."  
  
Huffer grins and joyfully confirms back to him, "You got it Prime! Huffer out!"  
  
Outside, down in the valley heading towards the mountain where the ship lays, Optimus Prime and the other race up the road heading for it. The human army follows closely behind as they bring their wounded back to Autobot headquarters, some of the trucks pull off and stay down near the campsite already set up from last time. The larger trucks head up with the Autobots as they all begin to move into the ship. As Prowl and Cliffjumper pass in their car forms, Trailbreaker uses his force field cannon arm to move the trapped Decepticon aside. Still not able to get out of it, Ravage continually claws at the energon mesh cage in a hopeless attempt to break free. As the others continue to head deeper into the ship, Cliffjumper and Prowl transform and walk over to Trailbreaker and his catch of the day.  
  
"Well, well, well...", Cliffjumper states, "Looks like our main man here bagged himself a kitty cat."  
  
Prowl laughs, "Yeah...funny I don't remember seeing you out there fighting them though?"  
  
Trailbreaker scoffs at Prowls stupid remark, "That's funny, I could have sworn you were supposed to be the security chief of this place. This spy got in here without us knowing about it."  
  
Prowl seemed taken back by that remark, he knew that if Kup had seen that happen he'd be in trouble big time. Indeed he did fail on carefully searching Bumblebee and the others when they came back, something that he's not proud of and something that Kup would look down on him about. Without even saying anymore, Prowl turned around and walked down the corridor to the bridge like a grumpy kid. It was a blow to his professional ego, a small spy getting past all of them was a major security breach, in his mind, he could hear Kup scolding him out for such a lackluster performance. It was time for him to get serious about improving security around the ship, it was time for him to prove that he could be as good as Kup ever was and it was time for him to get to work.  
  
The General and his wounded soldiers drove into the Autobot sick bay and began to set up a makeshift hospital for themselves. Ratchet drove in and stopped near one of the metallic beds the Autobots usually rest upon when injured themselves. He opened the top of his roof and raised the critical injured army men onto the cold hard surface of the bed. Like a large crane, his inner robotic hoist placed them up onto the bed as gently as he could. Once they were placed there, he quickly transformed and examined their wounds. Ratchet by no means a human medical expert, with very little time to study human anatomy he resorted to asking Telatran One for assistance.  
  
"Telatran One are you online?"  
  
"Affirmative", the computerized voice spoke out of nowhere.  
  
"Scan the humans for damage and recall any treatment information.", the worried robotic doctor instructed.  
  
"Scanning...", the computer quickly responded.  
  
A large blue light beamed out over head the humans lying there, it was a fine light source almost like a soft laser beam, and it passed over the humans both horizontally and vertically. As quick as the beam appeared it soon turned off and the computer gave it's analysis.  
  
"Humans are suffering multiple factures of various bone structures, vital organs are on the brink of failure and blood loss is occurring rapidly. Recommend immediate surgical reconstruction based on human practices."  
  
Ratchet sighed and soon realized the men were dying, he'd have to learn how to operate on these humans and quick. The General walked over to the large medical Autobot and saw that it was struggling to figure out how to proceed.  
  
"Ratchet...do you need help? I could always call for one of our doctors to come.", the General says to him.  
  
Ratchet shakes his head, "No, that's ok General. These men need treatment fast...but thanks for your concern. Telatran One...this is a medical priority, I need the information on human surgical repairs and all knowledge of human anatomy..."  
  
The computer grants his request, "Affirmative, voice priority recognized. Downloading all information on Earth human surgeries and procedures."  
  
The blue beam of light re-appears and aims itself directly at the medical robot's head. Ratchet stands there downloading all the information as the beam sends it directly into his brain; the glow in his blue eyes flutters as the General stands there watching this robot learn everything about human medical operations. It seemed incredible to him that this robot could become a master human surgeon in the matter of seconds. The light source turned off again and Ratchet snapped out of his downloading stupor. He looked down at the human patients and began prepping them for surgery. Looking down at the General he smiled and gave him a nod of reassurance.  
  
"Don't worry General...I know what I'm supposed to do now. If you'd like, you can be my nurse...I'll need some help and some blood."  
  
"I'm on it.", the man smiles back.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
As the Decepticons prepare to move out to the various energy locations, Megatron stares at the human/alien hybrid vehicle. He reaches down and yanks the double-barreled cannon off of the transport back; Starscream wanders over and looks at it with his evil leader.  
  
"This weapon managed to take out a Decepticon...", Megatron thought out loud, "Such primitive beings...and yet...such advanced and almost familiar technology."  
  
Starscream stared at it as his leader clutched it in his grasp, "It does seems strangely recognizable...I'm almost certain I've seen that design somewhere before. Where did they acquire it I wonder?"  
  
"I'd ask one of our prisoners...but something in my internal power source that they wouldn't have a clue. Hmm...No, there's someone else building these things, someone that is meddling with technology they know nothing about." Megatron says to the curious air commander.  
  
Looking at it one more time, he simply grimaces and chucks it back onto the ground. The weapons smacks back on top of the transport vehicle and crushes it even more. Soundwave casually approaches Megatron and salutes him.  
  
"We are ready to proceed Megatron!" the blue robot says in his monotone voice.  
  
"Very good Soundwave, We'll start with a few oil refineries and work our way over to Sherman Dam. Tell the Constructicons to keep working and monitor the human prisoners, I don't want our...guests fleeing our sights before the ship is built!"  
  
Soundwave salutes him again and walks over to the Constructicons still working on the ship. They are very swift and diligent workers, already using the surrounding metal left over from the human machines and weapons, they've managed to build the ship's lower framework and some of its engines. As the evil leader is about to step away from the transport debris, Starscream voices his concern.  
  
"Wait! What about this weapon? Surely we must investigate this matter further, what if they build another one just like it?"  
  
Megatron shakes his head and snickers, "Ah Starscream...you worry too much about such minor things. By the time we've built this ship and taken all the energy back with us, the matter will be moot. If you fear the humans so much...then please go and surrender yourself and be done of this spineless whimpering!"  
  
"I'm not spineless Megatron..." the Decepticon scowls at him.  
  
The leader laughs, "Of course not.... that's why you hid behind me when they attacked you."  
  
Starscream clenched his fist and snarled at the evil leader, "I did no such thing.... I...I was just making sure I wasn't hogging all the glory away from you."  
  
"Naturally." Megatron smiled as if he knew the lie to be as stupid as his air commander.  
  
The leader then stood out in the open and looked at all of his warriors, he raised his arms in the air and shouted out to them all.  
  
"Decepticons! Let us begin our hunt for Energon!!"  
  
All of the various Decepticon soldiers cheered and watched their leader fly up into the sky. They too launched upward with him and made their way to the locations Soundwave had suggested. Starscream took one last look at the human/alien weapon lying there and gave a look of doubt. Humans had managed to bruise him and that concerned him a lot. But since Megatron wasn't too concerned about it, then it probably wasn't a big a deal as he had thought. He lifted himself off the ground and flew upwards to catch up with the rest of the group; he transformed into his super sonic F-19 jet mode and let his thrusters kick in.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
The Autobots stood all around the bridge of The Ark, Optimus Prime paced back and forth as they all looked on and watched him do so. Carly, Spike and Sparkplug all stood off to the side where the Autobot leader was walking and also watched him as he mulled over their next plan of action.  
  
"Megatron won't stay put in that area for long. He'll need energon in order to leave this planet, so that begs the question, where will he strike?"  
  
Sparkplug rubs his back neck, "Anywhere he wants it seems...man, I think he's got his choice around the world. There all sorts of places to go...there's oil fields, gas depots, hydroelectric plants..."  
  
Prime stops in his tracks and sighs, "Yes...this world is a feeding frenzy for his appetite. Hmm...Still, he'd want to stay near the area, I know him too well. His ship under construction is close by and he won't want to stray too far incase we try to attack the site again. He'll undoubtedly try to attack anything near by that can produce large quantities of energy."  
  
Hound taps his head in thought, "Well that might be the oil refineries...those are close by. But from what I've studied on them briefly, they don't seem to be enough for his ship, his men and Cybertron."  
  
Jazz folds his arms and shakes his head, "Man, we're wasting our time trying predict his next move. If we so much as even try to stop him he'll give the order to kill those human hostages, face it guys...he's got our sorry butts in a noose."  
  
Cliffjumper stands up out of his chair, he was sitting in the command chair Prime would sit in during flight of the ship, but he leaps up and shakes his fists at them all.  
  
"Megatron needs to be put out for good! I'm sorry to be the one to say this...but those humans shouldn't have gotten in the way! I say we take our chances and take those Decepticons down!!"  
  
Trailbreaker stands over him and gives him a small jolt on the top of the screaming Autobot's head, "Aw, hush up you big hot head! We're not going to kill those humans just to satisfy your itch to kill Megatron, so pipe down."  
  
Cliffjumper turns to the big black robot and takes a few swings at him, but since Trailbreaker is taller and bigger then him, he holds the small minibot's head in his hand while the little hot head tries to hit him.  
  
"Oh yeah?! You want a piece of me too? Come on big boy...let's dance!!"  
  
Optimus becomes furious at Cliffjumper and shouts at him, "Cliffjumper!! Enough!! Settle down or I'll have you in the lower regions of this ship scraping off the rock with nothing more then a thin pair of tweezers!!"  
  
The mini red Autobot silenced immediately and sat back down into the chair like a scolded child would. Optimus regained his composure and looked around at the others, they all knew he was ticked off and didn't want to say anything else that might set him off again. Carly was too busy thinking of where the Decepticons would strike next to notice the small Autobot's ranting and suddenly realized of one location the evil leader might go.  
  
"Dams..." She said quietly.  
  
Spike standing right next to her looked over and realized she spoke, "I beg your pardon?"  
  
She smiled at the young fair-haired boy and said it again, " Dams! Think about it Spike...Dams produce a lot of energy."  
  
"But not the amount they're thinking of Carly. It wouldn't make any sense, why would he go for Dams when there are perfectly good nuclear plants all around."  
  
Suddenly across the room, Wheeljack heard the two of them talking and shouted out to them both, "Nuclear plants have too much radiation..."  
  
They both looked surprised that he could hear them from so far away, but as he walked into the middle of the room near where Prime was standing, he continued to talk about it.  
  
"They'd have to do a lot of work to create a safe energy field in order to keep their own circuits from frying. But I like the idea you had about dams Carly, if they could some how increase the water flow and increase the pressure...the generators would be able to produce instant electrical jolt that would give them the energy needed."  
  
Optimus Prime and the others listened to Wheeljack's theory, stood there thinking about the possibility and stroked his manifold chin.  
  
"Hmmm...Sounds like Megatron's kind of angle. But how would he collect the energy surge? I'd doubt he'd ask his men to carry it all in their energy absorbers all that time."  
  
Wheeljack thinks for a second and snaps his fingers as an idea pops in his head, "I've got it! During the war, there was talk of taking energon and compacting them into storage fields, sort of like taking the energy and crushing it down into tight wads of power. And since only Soundwave was the leader in that field of science...I'll bet he designed a way to store the energy into some sort of compact shell that would make it easier to put on their ship."  
  
Huffer snickers, "Yeah right Wheeljack, I think that crash has struck your processors too much. Thats a load of cyberjunk if I ever heard it!"  
  
Carly runs over to Wheeljack and starts to realize what he's talking about, "No...Wheeljack is right Huffer! It's kind of like dehydrating liquid into powdered crystal form and filling it into a container. It may not look like much in the powered form, but once it's re-hydrated it becomes twice the size of the container's volume. Compacted energy into lightweight containers..."  
  
"Or..." Wheeljack adds in, "A stable force field that could contain it all. Making it very lightweight, but extremely unstable. If it gets dropped or the field collapses.... boom!"  
  
Optimus Prime nods to them both for the helpful ideas, "Now we have a theory on how they'll collect it. Thank you. But if this is indeed how they will proceed, which dam will they target to do this?"  
  
Prime walks over to the computer and taps on the oddly constructed keyboard in front of him.  
  
"Telatran One...give me the location of any known dam in the area that is big enough to withstand a major flood or even a increase in water pressure. Specifically one that is within the distance to this ship and the Decepticon site."  
  
The massive computer screen flickers and sifts though a various images of local dams, "Beginning search.... searching...."  
  
As Telatran One scans for near by dams, Sparkplug turns around to see the General walking in through the bridge doors, he's using a blood spattered cloth to wipe his hands and shows some signs of fatigue. No longer wearing the green military suit jacket, he took it off to aid Ratchet as he operated on his men, now the clean white long sleeved shirt he wore underneath is smeared with blood as well. His sleeves rolled up and his black tie loosened gives him a more relaxed look, but after being in surgery for a while, he looks anything but relaxed. Sparkplug walks over and pats the man casually on the right arm.  
  
"How's it going in there?", Sparkplug asks.  
  
The General sighs as he continues to rub the blood off of his hands, "Its looking better then it was...Ratchet is doing a fine job, but he's unconfident about his skills as a surgeon...well...on humans anyway. Nevertheless I'm impressed with what he's done so far, his hands were moving faster then I could see, its incredible what these machines can do."  
  
Sparkplug nods in agreement, "No argument here. These Autobots are truly something, they could have come in and taken over the entire world like the Decepticons, but instead choose to honor life wherever they find it. Such noble beings.... it really humbles our kind greatly."  
  
"They've certainly humbled this stubborn old fool.", the General says in a somber tone, "I send men in to die and never give it a second thought, but Optimus Prime sends his in to save ours and deeply cares what happens to both kind. Rather then risk so many lives, he'll do what's honorable...how many of us can say the same?"  
  
Sparkplug looks kindly onto him, "Don't beat yourself up too much General, we know you were only looking out for best interest. Sometimes it takes a defeat to humble a man and realize that he's only human, we all make mistakes, but we learn from them as well."  
  
The old commander stares up at him and nods, "Yeah...we certainly do. And Sparkplug? You can call me Hank ok? But uhm...Don't tell the others I said you could."  
  
The construction worker looked at him and started to smile, the brash military man gave him a wink and started to smile. Sparkplug slowly chuckled and so too did the General, the rare time anyone has seen a hard nosed man like that have any sort of genuine laughter. The two men shook hands and continued to giggle lightly. Suddenly, while the two men shared a friendly moment behind, Telatran One finally spoke out loud to Optimus Prime as it held an image of a dam on its monitor.  
  
"Location found.", the computer said to Optimus who was sitting there patiently, "Sherman Dam is the closest water reserve within the specified parameters. It is a large water reserve capable of generating large amounts of electricity and well constructed to sustain any major flooding events."  
  
Optimus Prime leaned in to have a closer look at the image on the screen; Telatran One scrolled all the vital information of its energy production, size and blueprints.  
  
"Telatran One, theorize for me.... if the dam was modified to produce double or triple the amount of water pressure and produced a pure source of energy, would it be possible to store vast amounts into compressed sized energon modules?"  
  
The computer thinks for a second and quickly responds with diagrams showing the possibility, "Affirmative, energy could be stored into compact force field energon modules, compressed energy would be stable for transport, but easily damaged if mishandled or fired at with an energy weapon."  
  
Ironhide sitting there listening to it all jumped up from his spot and threw his arms out with clenched fists, "It's confirmed! Wheeljack was right; Megatron is planning to take enough energy to refuel the war back home! We've got to stop him right now Prime, not just for our sake but for the humans as well."  
  
The Autobot leader turned around to face his men, "Yes Ironhide...I know. But with the human hostages in his grip...we dare not act. But.... I do have a plan..."  
  
Sparkplug and General Hank walk over to hear it, as do Carly, Spike and the rest of the Autobot soldiers. They all encircle the leader as he tells them of his idea of what to do next.  
  
"First off...we're going to that dam, we'll catch him in the act of surprise as they try to fill up on energon. But before we can move in...I'm going to send someone in to rescue the hostages at the same time. Hmm...Where's Mirage?"  
  
Huffer laughs, "Mirage? He's probably driving clear across the planet by now...anything to get away from being a soldier."  
  
Suddenly, a disembodied voice booms out from directly behind him, "That's what your think you orange hard head!"  
  
As Huffer turns around the voice of the Autobot materializes in front of his eyes. A soft green hue of light outlines his whole body frame and then quickly turns into the blue and white robot that stands there smiling at him. Everyone is shocked to see him there, as far as anyone knew; Mirage wasn't even in the ship at all.  
  
Optimus Prime walked over and folded his arms as he stood in front of him, "Welcome back, Mirage. I trust you carried out the mission I sent you on?"  
  
The blue and white robot saluted the slightly taller Autobot leader, "Absolutely Prime. I did what you asked. I followed the human agents helicopters and located the base they went too. Not one of them spotted me...guess being invisible helps."  
  
Prowl didn't seem to understand, "Prime? What's going on here? I thought for sure that Mirage ran out on us."  
  
Mirage gave a chuckle at that comment, "No way! I'd never do that to you guys, besides I'm a better spy then a fighter...Kup told me that once."  
  
"Indeed..." Optimus Prime said in a calm manner, "Now then, give me a report Mirage...what did you find out."  
  
"I followed them as far as I could...out to some big long road that led into desert-mountain region, but before I could get close to where they set down, I detected some image scanners that would have shown me on thermals. Prime...some of those scanners were really advanced for this species, I mean...it's like they stole some of our level of technology cause I swear I've seen that type of imager before."  
  
Prime nods at Mirage's discovery and pats him on the shoulder, "Good work. We'll have to deal with that issue at another time. Right now, I've got a new task for you."  
  
Mirage straightens up, "Where to next Prime, I'm ready!"  
  
"I need you to head out to the Decepticon site and rescue the humans. I'll have Prowl fill you in on the details and the location later, but you can't do this alone...I need another volunteer to help you."  
  
Sparkplug raises his hand, "I'll do it Prime."  
  
Prime shakes his head, "No Sparkplug...I need you and the General with us to help get the men out and put them within a safe distance. That goes for you too Spike...we might need you and your father to shut down the dam if the Autobots and I become too busy with the Decepticons. We'll distract them long enough for you to shut it all down."  
  
Spike nods and Carly suddenly steps out at the massive robot leader, "How bout me then? I'll go with Mirage..."  
  
Hound leans down at her, "It's dangerous Carly. I'll be the one to go with him."  
  
Carly starts to get mad, "But the Autobots will need your help as well Hound. Let me go Optimus.... you need me too!"  
  
Prime shakes his head, "I can't endanger your life too Carly...I think you'd help us more by staying behind and helping the soldiers recover."  
  
Mad as hell, she stomps her foot and points at him while she shouts, "Listen Prime, I'm sick of being treated as just some weak lil' woman...every male I've encountered has treated me that way and I'm tired of it. I'm going to help Mirage, I'm going to free those hostages and there's nothing you can say that will stop me from going. Case Closed!!"  
  
All the Autobots flinched as she stood there ripping into the leader, some were wide-eyed and in shock that she screamed at him. Prime didn't move a muscle as he looked at her, his eyes dimmed as she finished and raised his head over at Mirage. The blue and white Autobot simply shrugged his shoulders at the leader and laughed a bit.  
  
"Wow...uhm...well...I guess that settled."  
  
Suddenly, Telatran One beings to sound the alarms and flashes a red light on and off in the room. The sound and the light fill the entire place and the computer voice can be heard warning them.  
  
"Alert! Alert! Decepticon activity detected!!"  
  
Bluestreak runs over to the computer and looks on the monitor, "They're in one of the oil refineries Prime, diverting crude oil into energon. "  
  
Prime looks over to him, "How many and how long?"  
  
The Sliver/blue-ish robot taps on the Cybertronian keyboard and enters the results, "Looks like nearly all of them, at the rate they're draining that place...we've got like an hour or less till they move to the next target."  
  
The Autobot leader's eyes flash a bright blue, "Sherman Dam will be next...we can't reach the refinery in time, but the dam will be the place we'll be waiting for him. Autobots! Prepare to move out!"  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢ Out in the plains of an oil refinery depot, humans scramble to flee the area; some jump into their cars and trucks and bolt off like lightening. As they all randomly look back, they see the group of Decepticons firing their energy weapons at them. Blasting away, they scare them off like cattle; even the ones that try to stand their ground. Megatron swoops in and fires his black arm cannon at one of the buildings, the explosion sends debris everywhere and even causes a slight tremor from the impact. With the last group of humans fleeing for their lives the rest of the evil robot group land on the ground and help the others work. The Decepticons swarm the oil depot as they fill up the energon cubes that Soundwave provides for them. The energon cubes are produced out of the Minidisk transformer's chest, pinkish red in hue and looking more like empty outlined boxes. They continually pop out of Soundwave's chest mini disk loader window as each Decepticon grabs one and fills it up. Those that were filled instantly convert the matter into energon and cause the cube to glow with raw power. Megatron stands there watching it all with a great greedy pride; the beaming smile from his face shows his pleasure and chuckles to himself at the overwhelming spoils they're reaping from this planet. Starscream feels like wiping his brow from all the hard labor, he's not use to doing things himself, normally he assigns one of his own troops to do the dirty work for him, But now he's forced to do it because there isn't enough of them to pass it off to someone else. Skywarp walks up and places his cubes down on the ground next to Starscream's load, as Starscream mutters on about their leader.  
  
"Look at him Skywarp...he doesn't even lift a finger to help us. Hmpft! I tell you...when we get back to Cybertron...I'm going to kill him and become the new ruler."  
  
Skywarp whispers to Starscream carefully, "You'd better not talk like that Starscream, if Megatron hears that from you again he'll definitely rip out your guts just like he did to Jetplague."  
  
The grey colored air commander laughs softly, "Jetplague was a weakling. I'm much more stronger and faster then he ever was...and I'm definitely smarter then Megatron over there. Stick with me my friend...I'll be made leader yet."  
  
The black and purple Decepticon scoffs at him, "Yeah right...that's why you tremble in your booties every time he threatens you, eh Starscream?"  
  
Rumble comes huffing and puffing over to them, he drops his load of energon cubes down and bends over like he's overdone his share of the workload. Catching his breath, he talks to the two Decepticon jets after eaves dropping on their conversation.  
  
"You know Starscream.... Huff! Huff! ...If you did less chattin' and more work, we'd be done by now.", the mini robot says to him.  
  
"I don't remember asking your opinion Rumble...so shut your trap!", Starscream says angrily.  
  
Reflector, the tri-robot group, all walk over to the Decepticon leader and talk in unison.  
  
"We're just about finished Megatron. "  
  
Megatron nods, "Good. Any sign of the Autobots or the human military?"  
  
"None that we can detect mighty leader. It appears they've kept their word. "  
  
Megatron laughs, "Prime always does. That's what makes him such a pathetic fool, now that we have the humans as hostages, he'll do whatever I tell him to do."  
  
As he looks out across the oil refinery, he sees his men are just finishing up filling the cubes and all walk over to the brightly glowing pile. Megatron also walks over to them all and picks up a cube to examine it closer.  
  
"Success Decepticons! They look absolutely flawless, raw energon at its finest...now we must take them back to our temporary base and proceed to the next target."  
  
Looking over at Thundercracker, Skywarp and Starscream, Megatron chucks one of the energon cubes at Thundercracker chuckles at him trying to catch it before it drops near them all. The light pale blue transformer grabs it and lets out a sigh of relief from not letting it fall at his feet.  
  
"Nice catch Thundercracker...", Megatron snickers, "Now fill up your cargo hold and take those cubes back to the Constructicons. The rest of us will continue on to Sherman Dam and fill up more of these precious energon cubes."  
  
Thundercracker nods and quickly transforms into his blue F-18 jet mode and opens up the top section of his body. Like a pair of cargo doors opening on the space shuttle, they swing open and reveal the large space that looks just about enough to hold all those cubes. Each Decepticon picks up a stack of glowing pinkish red cubes and place it inside of him. As they continue to fill his space up, Soundwave, who looks concerned about something, approaches Megatron. Megatron looks over to see the blue-silver robot staring up at the sky.  
  
"What is it Soundwave?"  
  
"We are being observed by a strange object in orbit of the planet.", he says to him in his monotone resonating voice.  
  
Megatron looks up and squints with his eyes, "Yes.... I've noticed that before. We're being watched Soundwave, no doubt the humans are very curious beings. It is a dangerous quality I've discovered about them."  
  
"It is of strange construction...I cannot identify most of its technology.", the yellow-eyed cycloptic robot says to the leader.  
  
"Indeed...it must be almost like that vehicle they used. Technology they have no understanding of.... but yet...someone seems to know how to incorporate it into their own."  
  
Soundwave nods in agreement and adds more information; "It has followed us since the battle and seems to remain focused on our every movement."  
  
Megatron continues too look up at the small faint dot in the sky and glares at it, "I don't like being spied upon Soundwave, not even by creatures as dumb as these ones. They must be taught yet another lesson by us."  
  
High above the Earth, the hybrid human-alien satellite gazes down at them, the half round black eye of the craft shimmers in the Earth's bright reflection. Elsewhere, deep within the bowls of Area 51, the mysterious shadowed figure monitors them as he sits in his large command chair. All that can be seen of him is his hands pressed together in a prayer like fashion; the large view screen in front of him shows Megatron staring directly at him.  
  
"So...you see me do you?", the shadow covered human says, as if Megatron could hear him, "Interesting."  
  
As he watches Megatron, he notices the robot transforming into his handgun mode and being placed into the hands of Soundwave who was standing next to him at the time. The shadowy man sits up in his chair as he witnesses the robot aim the hand weapon directly at the satellite. At the oil depot, Soundwave holds Megatron steady in his hand, the long shaft of the leader's black silencer barrel glistens in the sunlight as it takes aim. With one firm twitch of his finger, the Minidisk transformer fires the weapon and a large red streak of energy cannons out of it. As fast as lightening, the energy blast reaches the spy satellite and causes it to explode in a massive fireball. Some parts vaporize on impact and the rest ejects sporadically into pieces. What was once in space is no more. After the deed was done, Megatron re-transformed into his robotic mode again and gave an evil smirk as he stared up at the falling debris. The mysterious man stood in front of his many monitors, all hissing and showing nothing but static. Not one image was left on any of them; with his hybrid spy craft gone...there was nothing to view. Another man entered the room; Agent West once again walks over to him and pauses beside the shadowy man known only as N Leader.  
  
"I take it...he discovered our presence?"  
  
The N Leader nodded, "So it would seem. But not to worry West...we can always launch another one."  
  
"Sir..." The Agent adds, "Drakemore is back and requesting his next mission."  
  
The dark figure sighs, "Tell him to be on hold for now. I want to see how this will play itself out."  
  
"I beg your pardon sir?" West asks astonished.  
  
"I want to see how much damage the Autobots and Decepticons cause before I make my offer to the rest of the world. Once we have a public display of their destructive behavior...the world governments will increase their demand for the technology. Increased demands mean increased profits, once that has been established...we can terminate them completely and salvage the goods."  
  
Agent West, rubs his right hand up into his dark hair and finally rests it on the back of his neck, "But...how will we achieve this sir? The only satellite we had in orbit is now...well...gone."  
  
The N Leader giggles at the stupid question and paces in the room, "News crews have been dispatched to the oil depots after learning of a massive attack on them. It was only a matter of time before the media caught wind of this, so I'll let them. It will surly cause a panic amongst the people and show the other countries the technology they'll be getting. All my life I've waited for this moment, since my first days on the project till now..."  
  
The shadowy figure stops for a second as he finishes his thought, "All my designs and brilliant breakthroughs in science have finally paid off. They thought I was mad for trying to blend all of these alien technologies together, that it wouldn't all function as well as it has been.... but I showed them. Nothing can stop me now, these...Transformers... are increasing my skills by leaps and bounds. One day we will have the total knowledge of their secrets and become gods among men! Baahahaha!!!"  
  
The other man shakes his head at the insane plan and grabs hold of the pacing man; he brings him out of the darkened area of the room and into one of the spotlights shining down. The mysterious man now is fully visible to see, a Caucasian man wearing a dark blue suit and a white, open collared shirt. His head is balding with a crest of thick messy grey hair around the sides, his face is that of a man worn in years and his skin is as pale as his shirt. As he's brought into on of the lights, the Agent looks at him with great concern.  
  
"Doctor Archeville! We can't allow these things to roam freely! You saw what it did to our weapon and the satellite? We must make a new strike at them now and then clean up this whole mess before we're totally exposed!"  
  
Archeville forces the man's hands off, "Never! This is how it will be Agent West! Don't dare to presume you are in charge of this operation ever again, do you hear me!!"  
  
The doctor's yell causes the man to recoil in fear, the glare from the old man's eyes shows his anger in full force and continues to shake his finger at the doubting agent.  
  
"Now stop your sniveling and get back to work! I will not tolerate anymore of this nonsense...not from you, the President or anyone else! Get out of my sight.... I said...Leave!", Archeville screams at the top of his voice.  
  
The agent bows gracefully and rushes out of the room. The pale doctor sits back in his command chair and activates the monitor ahead of him. A slight hiss from the screen activating soon produces a live image of a man not paying attention to the fact he's on screen. Doctor Archeville clears his throat to catch the person's attention and it works, the man's face now stares up at the doctor looking right at him. The man on the other side is young looking and wearing a pair of average sized gold-rimmed glasses. His hair is cut short on the sides, but looks styled enough on top to show the rest of his golden brown highlights.  
  
"What do you want now Doc? I'm rather busy..."  
  
Archeville stares at him very seriously, "Project N needs to increase dramatically. How soon till you complete your work?"  
  
The young man sighs and rubs his forehead, "Look, I told you this wasn't going to be easy when you showed me.... now...God I don't know..."  
  
The pale man leans forward at the monitor, "That's not good enough. I want it up and running as soon as possible! These bits and pieces you're sending me is worthless, I need more damnit!"  
  
The irritated voice of the doctor soon shows faint hints of his latent European accent, an almost German-Austrian twang in it's inflection, but still enough to make the young boy on the monitor gulp at it's rough tone. The young man sighs again and taps the side of his head while he thinks.  
  
"Alright, hmmm...Give me...I dunno...give me another week."  
  
Archeville pounds his fist on the console holding all the monitors, "No! No more weeks, months or even years! I want it in days or even hours! I've given you far too much time on this project already boy, I could easily make you disappear again, but this time...it will be your real body in that shallow grave out in the desert!"  
  
The doctor notices the fear building in the young kid's eyes as the threat makes him sweat a bit on his brow, leaning back into his chair calmly, Archeville once again clasps his hands and taps his fingers.  
  
"I'm sure by now...they've discovered the brilliant computer whiz Chip Chase is no longer among the living. Shall I let the CIA know you're not dead? Hm? That the virus you planted is still taking money out of many accounts across the globe? Not to mention the various government leaks, spy emails and even several countries you've managed to tick off. Yes, Yes, there's quite the international bounty on your head, certainly no place to hide outside of here if I let you go. Maybe I should kill you and spare your miserable life, because I'm most certain that nothing will come of it...what do you think, Chip?"  
  
The boy gulps again and lowers his eyes; "Give me a few days then."  
  
The old man nods at him, " Thank you my boy. Work quickly and I'll make it all those troubles go away...Archeville out."  
  
The image switches off and the old man grins as he continues to relax proudly in his chair. 


	11. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter Eleven – The Battle For Sherman Dam  
  
Large white letters appear on a flat red and blue background, "NEWS UPDATE" it reads as it sits there on every TV across the country. A very stale male voice soon accompanies the bold print as music cues along with the appearing text.  
  
"We interrupt this show to bring you a live report, here now is anchorman Dan Murphy"  
  
The picture fades away and soon an Afro-American man with short cut hair is seen shuffling some papers on a beige desk with red strips running across it's visible front. The man is wearing a dark blue suit with a white shirt underneath and sporting a red tie. Blurred behind him are people working away on computers, moving from seat to seat and running all around the room that he's sitting in. Clearing his throat and looking up as he's now shown, the man leans in and stares out to the camera pointed at him.  
  
"This just in...There are reports of something happening out in the Texan oil fields not more then a few minutes ago. People are phoning in about strange explosions in the area and of oil workers fleeing the site in their vehicles. Nothing is confirmed at this time...but we've just gotten word that the military has also been seen driving in to create road blocks."  
  
A red haired young Caucasian woman comes up beside him and places a sheet of paper in front of his hands. She quickly darts off after placing it down and the anchorman gives it a quick glance. As he pauses, he nods and holds the small earpiece on his right side. He looks up again and starts to talk about what he's just read.  
  
"Uh...yes.... sorry folks, I've just been informed of some breaking news. It seems there has been another military presence in a neighboring state not long ago as well. More explosions were heard and there are reports coming in of people who have eye witnessed that event. We don't seem to have any statements or video of that new information, but we will keep you posted about it when it does come in. In the meantime, we have a live feed with one of our reporters stationed near that Texas explosion...perhaps he can shed some light on what this all means."  
  
Turning to the next camera at his left side, the image cuts to his face as he turns. A new smaller inlet image pops up of the reporter he is about to talk too. An Asian American man with a dark mustache and short-cropped hair. The image is in black and white and looks like a standard stock photo of the man posing.  
  
"Jack Hong, our local correspondent in that area is standing by with an update...Hello Jack? Can you hear us?"  
  
Jack's voice comes booming in over the airwaves in a slightly garbled- static filled tone, "Hello? Hello Dan...Yes I can hear you."  
  
The anchorman once again leans in as he talks to the reporter, "Jack can you fill us in on what's happening out there? What's all the commotion about?"  
  
"Dan, there is a lot of activity out here! The road is jammed with workers running and driving by, all screaming for us to get out as fast as we can. One female worker was shouting over and over that there were metal monsters on the loose."  
  
The black man squints as he hears the reporter, "I'm...I'm sorry...Jack... did you say metal monsters?"  
  
The Asian American reporter nervously chuckles, "Indeed I did Dan...Apparently some of the screaming hordes of people here are ranting on and on of metal creatures tearing up the oil refinery and shooting at them with some sort of weapon. I think perhaps it's just shock and panic getting the best of them, whatever is going on at the refinery it appears to be major!"  
  
The anchor rubs his temples and tries to keep up the questions to ask the live reporter, "Jack...is there any indication that...that this might be a terrorist attack? Or perhaps a large environmental...."  
  
Suddenly Jack Hong interrupts the news anchor and begins to shout out, "Hang on a minute Dan. We are seeing something.... there's.... there's something in the sky everyone is pointing at. I...can't see...no...Wait...wait...I do see what they're all looking up at."  
  
"Jack? Jack! Describe it to us.... what is it? What do you all see?"  
  
"Oh...Oh my god!" the reporter shouts out, "Dan...There are large objects...metal...things in the air. Some look like military jets to me...but the others around them as I look closer...they look like...well.... like large...robots!"  
  
The news anchor's eyes grow wide with confusion, "Robots? Did he say robots? Jack...Jack did you just say robots?"  
  
Soon the people could be heard screaming over the static filled airwaves, the reporter begins to sound like he's running along with the crowd as his breathing becomes heavy. Explosions are heard in the muffled background of all the screaming panicked people.  
  
"Dan...Dan....We're being shot at! Oh God...those things are dropping out of the sky and shooting at us all with some sort of weapons. Ouch! Ow! Dan, people are running for their lives here and...Oh...OH NO!!"  
  
The laser fire can be heard getting louder and louder, the anchorman squinting as he listens to the carnage and his reporter friend panting as he runs. Suddenly, the anchor can hear loud laughter over top of all the noise happening, like a group of people talking in strange electronic voice. One of the voices shouts out as the last shot is heard through the broadcast.  
  
"So long humans! Thanks for the Energon!!"  
  
The signal soon goes dead afterwards and the news anchor takes out his earpiece quickly as the sound of the laser shot nearly deafens him. Recovering quickly, and shielding his hurt ear, Dan Murphy calls tries to call out to his friend.  
  
"Jack?! Jack are you still there?!"  
  
Looking up at the main camera poised on his face again, the anchorman adjusts his tie and tries keep the show going.  
  
"Uhm.... ok. Well, we'll try to get Jack Hong back on the air in a few minutes...it looks like we're experiencing some technical difficulties. We'll have more on this when we come back from break. See you in a few minutes."  
  
As the show begins to cue the music up, the news anchor sits there and shrugs his shoulders to someone off camera. In a whisper voice, he talks to them as he sits there gathering his papers.  
  
"What the hell happened? Somebody better fill me in fast...what was all that crap about attacking robots?!"  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Racing down the long highway in the desert, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots rush towards Sherman Dam at full speed. Spike, The General and Sparkplug all sit inside the Autobot Leader and brace themselves as the tractor trailer barrels down the road. The convoy of Prime's fellow car- robot soldiers quickly maintains a pace behind him; one of the Autobots pulls up beside the big red rig to talk. Jazz, the white, blue double striped Sportec 996 GT2 SP650 keeps a record speed next to the leader and shouts out to him as he raises some concerns.  
  
"Hey Prime!"  
  
"What is it Jazz?" the leader says in his deep booming voice.  
  
"I'm picking up Telatran One on the Autobot frequency...T-1 is reporting that the satellite that was jamming us is no longer in orbit."  
  
Inside the truck cab, the three men can hear the conversation. General Hank talks to Optimus as if he and Jazz can both hear his words.  
  
"I must have been taken out. Any chance the Decepticons know about it already?"  
  
Jazz laughs as he can hear the General's response, "I'll take those odds any day man...Decepticons love to shoot things down for sure."  
  
"If we could spot it, so could Megatron." Optimus Prime says aloud, "How long ago did that happen Jazz?"  
  
"Telatran One says just over twenty minutes ago, in fact there's already some human broadcasts spotting the Decepti-creeps heading in that direction already..." the white Sportec car says back.  
  
"That means we have about fifteen minutes to reach Sherman's Dam before they do." the leader calculates.  
  
Spike sits there in amazement, "My god...you mean they'll be able to reach it before we do? How is that possible?"  
  
Sparkplug leans over to Spike, "The same way the Autobots can reach a destination in half the time...only I'll bet the Decepticons don't have as many obstacles in their way like the Autobots do on the ground."  
  
Optimus Prime is impressed with Sparkplug's guess work, "Correct Sparkplug, the Decepticons have the unlimited sky to use and don't have to pre- calculate what lies ahead of their scanners. Some Autobots are equipped with anti-gravity hover converters, but unfortunately those that are modified with them aren't even here. A few rocket packs and some booster rockets are all we have..."  
  
Jazz, still following parallel speaks up again, "I could always send Sideswipe...he's got a rocket pack handy."  
  
"No Jazz...we ride together, I don't want the Decepticons to catch wind of us too early. Sideswipe's energy signature from his rocket pack might alert them and all this would be for nothing. Stay the course...."  
  
Jazz falls back behind him, "Rodger that Prime!"  
  
The Autobot leader raises his voice so that the entire convoy of cars riding behind can hear, "Autobots! Trans-boost drivers on.... Engage!!"  
  
The entire car filled road glows as they all build up a green energy around each of them, as they all reach a bright point in their soft glow, they warp speed down the road way and soon the highway they were driving on becomes empty and silent. The noise of their engines drifts off into the breeze and all that can be heard echoing in the distance is multiple sonic booms.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
In the deep valley, where the Decepticons have made a temporary launch base, the Constructions continue to work on the new ship. The bottom section looks almost completed as they focus on building the next section of the craft. All around the ship, a massive interlace of metal holds the frame in place; the towering scaffold shows just how sizable the project will end up being. The Constructicons build in their robotic modes and their transformed vehicle modes, working non-stop to complete the next phase. In a small area on the ground next to the ship, a group of the captured human prisoners sit in a circle inside the makeshift detention cage. All around them are small metallic rods that stick out of the ground; each one has an energy stripe connecting to the one a few meters away from the other. Each stripe glows a soft pink hue and the low humming noise of the energy passing through gives the hostages a feeling that this is nothing they want to touch at all. Eight lines from the bottom to the top surround them, leaving the only open space above as the means to be free, but jumping up to it would be pointless, as it would take an extremely tall human to even get his or her hands above it. For now they are all trapped. Two of the Constructicons walking by them in robot form lean in to taunt the frightened group of humans.  
  
"Not so dangerous without your primitive weapons are you...Bah-hahahaha", the green and purple colored Decepticons laughs out loud.  
  
The other one standing next to him simply stares at them in contempt, "Puny humans...you dare challenge the likes of the Decepticons...let alone the might of the Constructicons!! We should kill you right now!!"  
  
The leader called Scrapper looks over at the two workers and shouts to them as he stands near the ship he's working on.  
  
"Long Haul! Scavenger! Return to your duties! Megatron will be back soon and we need to complete our work!"  
  
The two transformers snicker as Scavenger flicks the energized barrier trying to scare the human captives. Both soon return to their work and transform into their vehicle modes. Longhaul converts into a massive dump truck and Scavenger transforms into his digger form. Scrapper looks around the area with his eyes, making sure there's no one around, and also returns to his work on the ship. Unknown to him, both Mirage and Carly watch near by on top of the canyon ridge. They sit and watch from a safe distance and get a layout of the land, Carly uses her binoculars to see the soldiers trapped in their cage and the distance between them and the Constructions.  
  
"There they are Mirage..." She says to him while looking, "Do think we can sneak up without being detected?"  
  
Mirage laying beside her nods, "Don't worry Carly...I'll come in nice and slow, they won't be able to see me unless they switch to their thermal optics. So we'll have to be extra quiet as we ride in cloaked."  
  
Carly lowers the binoculars from her face, continuing to look out into the valley, "That's a lot of people to carry back Mirage...I hope you can manage."  
  
"Yeah, I know...I hope I can too. We'll have to drive extra slow on our way out again so I don't throw any of them off. This is going to be tricky. You ready for it?"  
  
Carly looks at him and nods smiling, "You bet!"  
  
Mirage stands up and looks down at her, "Alright then...we'll move in and when Prime gives us the signal we'll move the people out."  
  
Mirage quickly transforms into a blue and white Formula One racing car, a large fin spoiler sits on the back of him and the white racer stripe decals run from his spoiler to the tip of his hood. Carly hops into the cockpit and attaches the cross-strap seatbelt inside. Gripping the steering wheel, she looks as if she's ready to peel away like formula one racer. Mirage revs up his engine, but doesn't pull away just yet.  
  
"Uh...Carly. Do you mind if I do the driving? Let go of my wheel sweetie..." Mirage says to her.  
  
Carly looking a bit embarrassed sits back and lets go of the wheel, "Ooops...sorry. Never been in a car like this...guess I just wanted to give it a whirl."  
  
Mirage laughs, "No problem. Maybe I'll let you take me out for a spin when this is all over. But right now...it's time to save some humans."  
  
The racer peels away fast and head down the cliff road path leading down into the valley, Carly sits tight as Mirage descends into the Decepticon territory and suddenly begins to use his cloaking shield. The soft green outline surrounds the vehicle with Carly inside and soon vanishes into thin air as it blurs away. The only thing that can be seen is the dust trail the invisible car is producing, but that too starts to die down as it reaches the bottom of the area.  
  
In the sky above the valley where the Constructicons work, Thundercracker swoops in out of nowhere and lands near the ship site. Scrapper approaches the sleek blue jet and waits for the Decepticon to open his cargo hold doors.  
  
"Hurry up and unload me already! Megatron is on his way to the next target and I don't want to miss it!" The jet speaks out loud.  
  
Scrapper grumbles, "Ah cool your thrusters you hot head! We've got more important things to do then worry about your trigger happy finger."  
  
"What did you say to me?!" Thundercracker says furiously.  
  
Long Haul pulls up near Scrapper and transforms beside him, "You heard what he said! We've got enough on our plate, building the ship and watching the humans, so unload the energon yourself fly boy!"  
  
Thundercracker transforms quickly and the energon cubes drop out of him as his cargo bay ejects them. The two Constructicons flinch in fear as they see the cubes hit the ground. But they lower their arms down as soon as they see they haven't exploded from the impact. Thundercracker laughs at them and flies up into the air still in his robot form.  
  
"The mighty Constructicons? Hahahaha...you guys are pathetic!" the blue jet robot cackles.  
  
Scrapper shakes his fist at the flying Decepticon as he watches Thundercracker transform and flying back into the distant sky.  
  
"You miserable idiot!! You could have killed us all!!!"  
  
Long Haul begins picking up the cubes with Scrapper as they clean up the mess, "They give us no respect, they treat us as lower class maintenance bots. We should crush them all and rule Cybertron for ourselves!"  
  
Scrapper eyes glow at the thought, but turns to his friend as he finishes picking up the energon.  
  
"One day we shall Long Haul. But after seeing how greedy Starscream is...I think we'll have to get in line."  
  
Long Haul nods "Let the fools take each other out. Megatron can kill Starscream for us...and we..."  
  
"Can kill Megatron afterwards." Scrapper says finishing his friend's thought, "Excellent idea Long Haul. But we should wait until we return to Cybertron, that way we can gather our followers to a true revolt. For now, we shall do their bidding and when the time is right...Devastator shall be unleashed to finish Megatron!"  
  
The two lime green Decepticons chuckle at their plans and begin to stack the pile of energon cubes in order again.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
It is a calm blue sky day at the Sherman Dam, the men and women workers go about their jobs professionally as they maintain the water reservoir's daily needs. It is also an open house afternoon, tourists flock around a young male guide as he gives an exclusive walk around the various areas of the dam. Young and old are gathered about, some taking pictures with bright flashes and others looking tired of dragging their kids along. The youngsters are restless and begin to play away from the group, but as one falls to his knees and cries, the parents instantly shout at them to come back and behave. They all move out to the middle of the dam outside, there the guide gives them more useless information and lets the people take a majestic look at the dam they are standing on top of. It looks more like a big road paved with asphalt and concrete, but looking over the sides they see that it is a massive wall that holds in the water where they all stand. More adults take pictures and the children once again split away from their parents to play now that they are outside. As the workers pass them by and give casual smiles and hellos, one of kids stares out into the sky as he perches himself on the dam's railing. The brown haired freckled face kid squints as he looks out and begins to point out to what he sees. The guide is getting annoyed at this boy and calls him back over to the group.  
  
"Excuse me? Huh...hello, little boy? Would you mind coming back over here? I don't think you should be so close to that railing."  
  
The kid keeps pointing and looks back at the man, "But I want to know what those things are coming at us. Are they part of the tour?"  
  
The guide looks up to see what the kid is talking about, as do all the other tourists. He curiously gazes at the incoming objects rapidly approaching the dam and seems puzzled as to what it is as well.  
  
"I...dunno. What the heck...?"  
  
The other workers all stop and see the incoming shimmering objects, all of them just as curious as the guide and tourists. But as they all stare up at it, they soon notice a large array of light coming down from them. The streaks of light bombard the area they all stand in and explode into balls of fire, each hit creates another and another, the people all scream and run for their very lives. Now fully visible, the Decepticons swarm the entire dam and land down on various parts of the dam. Megatron hovers near main section of the building and uses his fusion cannon to blast open the wall of the main generator room. Starscream and Skywarp transform out of their jet modes and follow in behind Megatron. Stepping into the now exposed generator room, the leader watches the humans all scramble about screaming. He smirks at the sight of the humans panicking and almost enjoys hearing them howl in horror. Aiming his cannon upwards he sends out a blast to make the people all pause in order to hear what he has to say.  
  
"Weakling Humans!! I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.... you will do as I command or be destroyed!!"  
  
Now frozen in fear, the various workers trapped inside the room with the massive metallic robot shiver with terror as his booming voice echoes across the room. Megatron looks down and sees one of the older male workers standing near by. He points his arm cannon towards the smaller being and glares at him with his pulsating red eyes.  
  
"You will assist us without question. Understood? Or do I have to show you what a real blast of energy can do to your frail structures?!"  
  
The man nods, "I...I...I'll do what you say! Just...don't hurt us...please!"  
  
"Then get to work...Slave!" Megatron commands to him.  
  
Starscream and Skywarp corral the other workers back as they point their side arm cannons at them all. Soundwave flies into the room with Rumble and Laserbeak, setting down beside Megatron as they land. The blue minidisk transformer begins to make his empty energon cubes as each human worker is forced to walk up and take one in their hands. A slight shock touches them as they each receive one, but soon it passes as the energy becomes stable in their arms. Now it feels more like an empty container, but glowing and feeling more like static electricity. Starscream points his null ray cannons at the generators and fires at every one of them. With each shot an engine freezes, giving Skywarp the means to re-wire each one and attaching new cables to them all. Now they force the humans to put their cubes up to the various generators and hold them near the output device Soundwave installs. It was amazing to watch to some of the engineers, the massive robots managed to do all of this in the matter of minutes, as if it was like changing a light bulb. As the workers held up the cubes to them, the generators kicked in again and began to spin almost at twice the speed. The energy build up from them began to give off a strange glow, which soon started to fill up each cube with raw power. The humans flinched as they held on, the energy obviously increasing the static shock even more. Megatron looked on with a great pride, it was just as he'd hoped for and more. When the cube was full, the Decepticons moved the humans aside and brought up the next one to be filled.  
  
"Generators are at tolerant capacity, Megatron." the cycloptic yellow eyed Soundwave announced to him.  
  
Megatron stroked his metal silver chin, "Hmm... It's still not fast enough though Soundwave. I think we need to double the production...increase the water pressure and bring it to critical, I want a non-stop flow of cubes!"  
  
The blue transformer bows, "As you command, Megatron."  
  
Turning to Rumble, Soundwave points out to the water reservoir and gives him instructions, "Rumble! Activate you pile drivers. Operation...Tidal wave!!"  
  
The minidisk bot smiles up at him, "Alright! Time to flood this place...Rumble style!!"  
  
Running out of the room, he jumps out and flies over the water the dam is holding back. He drops into it like a sinking rock and transforms his arms into the two large pile divers. They begin to pound away at the bottom surface, causing the Earth below it to shake and give off shock waves. The water becomes disturbed and sloshes around violently, each quake becomes faster and faster, causing the water to flow out the spillways faster and faster. Inside the generator room, the equipment rotates at almost critical speeds as the Decepticons force the humans to work as fast as the energy flowing out of the generators. The sight frightens the workers, knowing all too well that if those motors explode it will be the end of them all. Outside still cowering on the wall, the tourists try to sneak away undetected. They almost reach the other side to safety, when the boy with the brown hair and freckles runs back out to see the action. The boy's parents desperately try to grab him as he bolts away, but they couldn't catch him in time. The boy stands in the middle of the dam wall and looks at the Decepticons over in the generator room. All the while, under the kid's feet, the water is flowing at an unstoppable rate. The water pressure begins to crack the cement wall slowly and right around where the child is standing. The parents can't stay quite any longer and scream out to their boy to come back. The water is so loud; the kid doesn't even hear them. He's still too mesmerized by the large robots forcing the humans to work for them, but as he steps closer to have a look, the wall gives way and breaks the section he's standing on. The kid begins to fall to his death as the parents stand there helpless and screaming.  
  
As the boy tumbles down with the stream of water, a massive object in red and blue rushes up to him and grabs him with its large hand. It continues to fly up and land softly back onto the main wall/road, the parents and tourist stare up at this massive thing, which now lowers it's hand down releasing the boy unharmed. The boy looks back at the towering robot and smiles.  
  
"Thank you", he says to it.  
  
"Your welcome, but I think you'd better go with your parental units and leave this place fast."  
  
The parents run over, hugging and kissing their child. With tears in their eyes they look up at the metallic robot with glowing blue eyes and smile.  
  
"Thank you...Thank you..." the mother says, "Whoever you are."  
  
"My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. And you've very welcome, but this is no place for you and your family right now. Go...quickly!"  
  
The re-united family dash off together and continue to leave the area with the rest of the tourists. The Autobot leader makes sure they've gone at a safe distance and takes out his large black hand weapon from the panel opening on his back. He cocks the massive hand weapon and holds it up as if to make a signal. As he makes the motion, the group of Autobot vehicles rushes in over the wall roadway and transform into their robot modes. Each one takes out their weapon and looks at their leader.  
  
"Remember the humans and aim only at the Decepticons...I don't want any of these creatures harmed, is that understood?"  
  
They all nod at their leader's words. Optimus Prime touches his top arm again and the head microphone pops out of the side of his helmet head.  
  
"Optimus to Mirage...come in Mirage...."  
  
A faint voice is soon heard responding back, "Mirage to Prime...I read you, over."  
  
"Begin the rescue immediately. And be careful you two...", the leader says back softly to Mirage.  
  
Carly's voice soon whispers back at Prime, "Don't worry Optimus...just go and kick some ass!"  
  
"Rodger that Carly...", Prime snickers.  
  
The microphone retracts back into the leader's helmet head and he looks over at his awaiting Autobot soldiers.  
  
"You heard the woman...Autobots! ATTACK!!"  
  
They all leap from the dam wall and fly into the gaping hole in the Generator Room, Optimus Prime thumps down inside and stands with his gun pointed at the Decepticons within. The other Autobots rush in with their guns blazing and voices screaming. The Decepticons turn around and all fire back at them, shocked by their foes attacking, they try to find cover as the laser bolts fly across the room. Megaton refuses to hide and turns around to see Prime pointing his weapon at his head.  
  
"You fool Optimus!! You've signed the human prisoners death warrants! And here I thought you cared about these flesh beings..."  
  
Optimus Prime's eyes flash at him, "I think you'd better worry about yourself Megatron."  
  
The Autobot leader fired his weapon at Megatron, who in turn quickly dove out of the way of its strike. As the Decepticon leader rolls and makes a recovery, he fires his arm cannon at Optimus Prime who jumps high above and fires his weapon down at Megatron again. Once more, the Decepticon leader moves out of the way in time and now begins to fly up to the second level platform that leads outside. Optimus Prime jumps up to the open balcony Megatron is standing on and begins to brawl with the evil leader hand-to- hand. The other Autobots and Decepticons continue to fire away at one another as the explosions drive the humans towards the exits. Sparkplug and the General come through the doors and help the various crew escape.  
  
"This way! Hurry!" Sparkplug yells to them all.  
  
The General grabs on to a worker who trips and guides him out the door, "Easy does it now..."  
  
Spike stands outside and leads the people to a safe point towards the distance.  
  
"Keep going...don't stop! Just keep running in that direction and don't look back!!"  
  
Suddenly Hound drives up to Spike and starts to talk to him, "That water can't be flowing like that by itself...I'll bet even money that Rumble is down there. Come on Spike, come with me!"  
  
Spike hops into the army green hummer and smiles, "Let's go get that water rat!"  
  
Hound spins his tires and heads over to the water reserve, Spike holds on as the ride becomes bumpy and very dangerous, but Hound manages to keep the young passenger safe. As they pull up to the water's edge, Spike quickly jumps out and Hound transforms into his robotic mode, the both peer into the water to see if they can spot little Rumble at the bottom.  
  
"Anything Spike?" Hound asks.  
  
Spike shakes his head, "I can't see anything. The water is too murky and violent for me to see...I think we'll have to go in there."  
  
"Better let me go Spike...I don't need oxygen to breathe underwater."  
  
"Ok Hound, I'll watch your back from out here."  
  
The army green robot jumps into the water, and sinks in like a massive rock straight down to the very bottom of the reservoir. A large light beams out from the top of his head and he begins scanning the disturbed water as he walks though it. The light catches the small minidisk transformer pounding away at the Earthy ground stirring all the dirt up and making blurring shock waves around him. Hound slowly walks over and points his gun at the unsuspecting Decepticon, who apparently has his back facing the Autobot. As Hound gets as close as he can, he aims the gun at the small robot and makes ready to shoot. But suddenly Rumble notices him and maneuvers his pile drivers around to strike a blow at the sneaky Autobot. Hound loses his weapon from the hit and falls backwards from the shock wave. Rumble jumps on top of him and continues to use his drivers on the helpless robot pinned down.  
  
"So you wanna rumble with Rumble, eh? Then here's a few pounding pointers to change your mind, Auto-scrap!!"  
  
Hound struggles and tries to grab hold of the small robot, "I've got a pointer for you too shorty!"  
  
The green Autobot flashes his high-beamed headlight at the robot and causes Rumble to squint. The glare is too much for the little robot and tries to shield his eyes with his arms; which quickly transform back to normal. Now the Autobot stands up and gives the blinded Decepticon an upper cut to the chin, the powerful hit makes Rumble fly across the dense water and smacks against the concrete wall. Hound, not one to give up a fight too early, runs along the muddy soil and heads towards the blue-ish purple minidisk robot with a fist ready to give him another punch. Rumble shakes off the affect of the last hit and sees the Autobot speeding his way. The small robot smiles and activates his pile driver arms again; the ground quakes and starts to split open right in front of Hound. The Autobot falls into the massive crack Rumble created and soon becomes lodged with boulders and dirt pinning him in place. Hound once again struggles to free himself, but finds it's much more difficult this time, the boulders are too heavy. Rumble laughs away at the Autobot's misfortune and transforms his arms back into regular mode. Taking a gun out from his back panel, the evil Decepticon points it at Hound's head and gloats.  
  
"Well, well, well...Looks like I caught me a fish in these waters after all. Should I be merciful? Or put it down before it drowns to death...Muahaahahah!" the little robot laughs.  
  
Hound looks up and realizes he's too immobilized to do anything, one arm is stuck below the dirt and his other hand is being pinned by a heavy rock. With Rumble taking aim with his weapon, it looks as though he's finally met his doom.  
  
As Rumble begins to pull the trigger, Spike suddenly swims over and kicks the gun out of his hand. The Decepticon is surprised by the attack and tries to grab the small human man who quickly dodges his grip. Hound finds his strength again while Spike keeps Rumble occupied, and manages to free one of his hands. Spike desperately swims for the surface as Rumble angrily follows up behind. Spike notices the robot is gaining on him fast, and tires to increase his speed as well, but he's no match for Rumble who nearly grabs him by the foot.  
  
"I got you now you stinkin' lousy human!"  
  
Rumble is jerked back as Hound appears and takes hold of his foot.  
  
"We're not finished yet, get back here and fight like a transformer!", the Autobot says to him.  
  
Rumble screams as he is thrown back down to the bottom of the water reservior. Spike manages to get to the surface and breathes. He takes in a few more gasps of air and heads back down to see if he can help is friend.  
  
Inside the generator room, the Autobots continue to fire at the Decepticons who sheild themselves behind various objects. Starscream blasts away at Sideswipe and Prowl who quickly dive behind one of the generators spinning at maximum capacity.  
  
"Good thing Starscream is such a lousy shot!", The red robots laughs.  
  
Prowl looks at his back and shows Sideswipe his right door sticking out behind him.  
  
"Oh yeah? Seems pretty accurate to me you chrome head!"  
  
Up above on the platform, Optimus Prime and Megatron continue to fight hand to hand. The two grab each other into a dual head lock and try to keep one another pinned down.  
  
"Face it Megatron...you're not as good as you used to be!"  
  
"Niether are you Optimus Prime...you're soft when it comes to doing what's necessary. These humans are your weakness...and weakness deserves to be stamped out!!"  
  
Megatron transforms into his gun mode and blasts Prime in the chest, the leader falls backward and comes close to the edge of the platform their on. Megatron quickly transforms again, runs over and kicks the Autobot leader off of it. Prime nearly drops to the ground as he suddenly grabs hold of the ledge. Now he hangs dangerously above one of the generators below, spinning so fast it could probably cripple the leader. Megatron laughs as he stands over him and sees the predicament Optimus is in.  
  
"You've failed once again Prime...and that spinning device below is the sound of your doom!"  
  
He steps on the Autobot leader's hand and twists down on it with all of his might, as Prime growls in pain, as he begins to lose his grip on the edge. Starscream looks up and sees Optimus Prime in just the right spot for his blasters. The Decepticon smiles and aims both cannons at the Autobot.  
  
"Megatron shouldn't have the honor of killing him...If I do it, the Deceptcions will follow me and make me the new leader! Baaahahahaa!!! SO LONG OPTIMUS PRIME!!!", the Decepticon shouts.  
  
Sideswipe and Prowl see who Starscream is aiming for and both fire their weapons just as the evil robot fires his. The dual blasts hit the Decepticon air commander in the arms and he in turn misses Optimus Prime, but ends up striking Megatron in the face. The evil leader falls back from the blast and Prime uses the moment to lift himself back up.  
  
"YOU FOOL STARSCREAM!!", Megatron yells at him.  
  
Starscream scream up at him, "Megatron!! Forgive me!!"  
  
"Never mind that...finish the Autobots and get the energon cubes out of here!", the leader yells back.  
  
Optimus Prime runs over and picks Megatron up off the ground, he holds him over his head and throws him out of the building.  
  
"Let's finish this discussion outside Megatron!"  
  
The Decepticon leader falls on his back onto the dam's wall bridge, Optimus Prime runs out and slowly walks up to him, ready to finish the job.  
  
"I'm tired of your games Megatron. Tired of having to lose so many friends and innocent lives just to satisfy your greed...your destrctive behavior...and you're arrogance. Cybertron belongs to all of us, not just the Decepticons but all Transformers...Primus wanted us to live together in harmony, not to have one faction dominate the other, not even to treat other species as slaves!"  
  
Megatron tries to lift his head, "Ahaha...You're wong as usual. All lifeforms are below us...we are the rulers of the universe not them. Decepticons are the only true inheriters of Cybertron, Primus hid the truth about our kind...we were the ones that liberated Cybertron...without us, he would have failed miserably!"  
  
The Autobot leader continued to walk over to him slowly, "Once again your circuits are faulty Megatron...it was both sides that led us to freedom. You're just trying to justify your position in order to fulfill your sick, twisted mentality of how you want things to be. It's always been about you...you crave power and destruction....and it's caused our planet dearly for your stupid ambition!"  
  
Megatron's eyes lower at the Autobot leader's words, "Your one to talk Optimus...I've seen you do just as much damage as I have. You could have ended the war long ago, you could have pitted every last Autobot at my Decepticons and been victorious. It would have only cost you half of your forces and made you the most powerful Autobot on Cybertron! But instead, you cared too much about what was right...you showed compassion and became soft. You never have the guts to see things through Prime...Never willing to do what is necessary to win...no matter the cost."  
  
Prime's eyes flare, "You still don't get it Megatron...I've always done what is necessary. Life....life is what must be saved at all cost. Primus new it....and I certianly understand it. All life is worth living...Autobots, Humans and Decepticons. It must be preserved and allowed to flourish....no matter the cost."  
  
Outside in the bright blue sky, a commercial sized red and white helicopter flies in with large letters detailed on the side. The hovering chopper reads—ACTION NEWS 7—and a man opens the sliding door on the side pointing a large shoulder mounted camera towards the dam. A caucasian man, middle aged with dark black hair, kneels down beside the camera operator and begins to speak into a microphone headset as he describes the scene.  
  
"This is Jerry McLane reporting for Action News....We're bringing you live footage of a major conflict just happening at Sherman Dam with what appears to be massive robots!"  
  
Looking through the video feed of the camera, it shows a grainy shaken image of the Autobots fighting the Deceptcions inside the generator room, that soon shows a Jazz, Sunstreaker and Trailbreaker launching out as the Tri-decepticon group, Reflector, continues to fight them all in the open. The camera pans over the area and then spots Optimus Prime walking over to Megatron, who's trying to get up on his feet again.  
  
"This is incredible! We are witnessing a most unusual event in the history of our planet. The robots are in a destructive struggle with one another that is endangering human lives! I begs the question as to where our military is and why they haven't come to stop them? America wake up!! We're under attack and no one is doing a damn thing! Don't stop filming damnit...keep rolling!"  
  
In a dark, hidden underground lair, Doctor Archeville sits in his usual balck chair and watches the TV monitor. The live feed from the TV broadcast plays out as he sits there with several other monitors around it. On each one of those, the faces of each country government official stares back at him, as they too watch the horror being televised on their screens at each of their locations. Archeville continues to sit very calm and slurps on a hot cup of tea that is placed beside him on a small glass table.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen...as you can see the menace is very real.", he says to them all as they look horrified on the monitors.  
  
"This is the destructive power I told you about...and warned you would happen if you didn't agree to my terms."  
  
An older asian man begins to speak as he shakes his head at the sight.  
  
"This does not concern the people of China, Doctor Archeville. So we will not buy into your purposal, nor shall we agree to any terms you set down."  
  
The Doctor drinks from his cup again and glares at the chinese politican, "Minister Quan...if you don't agree you will suffer the same fate as any other that opposes me. I have the technology to level your country to the ground if need be...I have been paitent and allowed you to make your idle threats to this country and to the world...but do not even dare to push me any further on not doing as your told."  
  
The asian man blinks as he becomes flustered by the tea sipping man's comments. Archeville sets his tea down and points to chinese man on the small monitor.  
  
"You will do as I say and you will continue to work for me. Understood? Think of the possiblities I will bring you once I have control of this new crop of technology. You can carry on your wars and spying missions to a whole new level...this is our business gentlemen...we make the world run the way it should. But when it comes to world power...just remember who is the TRUE world power. I, Doctor Archeville am that power and only I know the secrets of this technology that you all need."  
  
A caucasian woman begins to speak in a british accent and sounds nervous as she directs her comments at him.  
  
"You've been promising us this for years Archeville, so far the technology you've given us is very limited. When can we expect to see the main product you told us about? Where is it?"  
  
The Doctor sighs, "My man is on it. Don't worry, it won't be too long now...you've waited this long...time is still on your side."  
  
"Bull", says the Canadian official on the lower monitor, "Doctor you've had plenty of time to have this done...And now with these massive alien robots smashing around, we need those weapons and technology more then ever. There's no time left! Why aren't you stopping these creatures? Maybe we should ban together and attack them with our armies, we could take the technology for ourselves."  
  
"I see...", Archeville says calmly.  
  
The old Doctor looks to his left and stares at one of his dark suited agents standing beside him in the shadows. Not saying a word to each other, the agent walks over to a group of phones and picks up the one that has the country name on it. The agent picks it up and begins to talk in a low voice that nobody can hear in the room or on the monitors. Once he hangs up, the agent walks back over and Archeville turns to face the Canadian man again.  
  
"Goodbye Mr. Daniels."  
  
On the monitor, the man looks to the right of him as he hears someone enter the room. As the Doctor and the other world officials look at their monitors, they see Mr. Daniels' eyes grow wide as a gun suddenly is aimed at his head in plain sight.  
  
"NO...NO WAIT!!", The man screams.  
  
Archivlle turns off the monitor just as the man gets shot in the head.  
  
"Mr. Daniels has been retired ladies and gentlemen....are there anymore that wish to...retire?"  
  
All of them remain silent as he looks on each face to see if they do object.  
  
"No? Good...I'm glad to see the line of thinking has finally stopped. I supply you with everything you need and those that wish to attempt to go into buisness for themselves will find that my men are well placed in your governments. Betrayal will be not be tolerated."  
  
Looking back at the british woman, the Doctor once again lifts up his tea and drinks from it.  
  
"You will have what I promised you soon enough...for now...we shall let these metal mosters take what they want and then after the dust is settled....we will take them. Who ever finishes whom first. Thank you all, we'll talk later."  
  
The entire group of monitors shut off and all that remains is the main viewer that has the live TV broadcast of the sherman dam struggle. The Doctor snickers as he continues to nurse his drink, the agent beside him bows and leaves the room.  
  
"Who ever wins....and whom ever loses.", Archeville chuckles, "Either way...you will be ours." 


	12. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 12 – The Battle For Sherman Dam Continues  
  
The Constructicons continued to build the Decepticon shuttle as the helpless human prisoners looked on in their energized detention barrier. The military soldiers lay about beaten and trying to tend to one another's wounds, the battle took it's toll on most of them, some had 3rd degree burns and some were bleeding from shrapnel imbedded in them. As the two leading officers in the camp walked around slowly, they both had a feeling their days were numbered. The young blonde female officer turned to her dark haired male friend and gave a look of sadness.  
  
"This isn't how I wanted us to go..."  
  
"I know...I just wish I had one more chance to say goodbye to my girl....", the young man says to her.  
  
Both gave each other a comforting pat on the back and tried to hold the tears back as not to look weak in presence of the other soldiers. But as they tried to contain their grim feelings, they both heard a quiet whisper coming out from behind the plasma energy fence. As they stepped closer to the faint voice, they could both swear it was coming from the other side. Suddenly a delicate hand appeared out of nowhere, feminine and Caucasian in skin tone.  
  
"Pssst! Over here!", the voice said to them as the hand gestured as well.  
  
"Who.... who's there?", the young blonde officer asked quietly.  
  
Now a face peered out at them as it too became fully visible out of thin air. The woman's face was that of Carly, she gave a quick wink and smiled at them both.  
  
"We're here to bust you out. Ok Mirage...start cutting...or disrupting the field...or whatever it is you need to do."  
  
Another voice quietly spoke as a light source hit the side of the energy wall and began to disperse the electron flow.  
  
"Got to make it big enough to fit two people...just incase they need to carry the others. Carly, activate that gizmo Hound gave you and put in the center of the jail cell."  
  
The energy wall opened up large enough for Carly to step on through and held a device in her hand, it was almost as big as a basketball and constructed of metal similar to that of the Autobot's craft type. The man and woman both walked up as fast as they could to her and smiled in delight.  
  
"Thank God you came! Who are you talking too?", the young blonde woman says cheerfully.  
  
Carly smiles again at them and activates the device, "No time for questions...just do as I tell you."  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Optimus Prime finally stops in front of Megatron as he rises up. The Decepticon leader seems to have fully recovered from his fall and stares directly at the Autobot leader looking back at him.  
  
"Soft Prime...that's what you are. A weakness that should have been wiped off the face of Cybertron long ago during the wars of old."  
  
Optimus Prime continues to glare at the evil Decepticon, "Blah, blah, blah, Megatron...I'm beginning to think your all talk and no bite."  
  
Megatron's eye's glow intensely, "I'll show you bite you insufferable...."  
  
The Decepticon surprises Optimus with a quick upper cut punch to his jaw and causes the Autobot to launch up in to the air and fall back to the ground. Prime quickly shakes off the blow and sees the leader standing there with his fists ready.  
  
"Stand and face me Prime!! I will crush you with my bare hands if need be!"  
  
The Autobot rises up fully prepared for a slugfest, his fists are also raised up and the two begins circling one another looking for the open shot to make the first punch. As the two circle and circle, Megatron smiles as if a new thought has struck his brain.  
  
"I challenge you Optimus...To the ancient form of Energon Combat!"  
  
Energon Combat, the old Cybertronian form of Gladiator sport their ancestors used to perform during the dark days of their past. It was still heard of during their days, but those who felt the need to satisfy their honor only used it. In the alleys of Cybertron, the sport often was used for gambling reasons and for Decepticon tests of might. The Autobots rarely used this sport mainly because all of them felt it was too barbaric and a waste of vital energon fuel. Optimus Prime had studied this old form of combat long ago, and downloaded several old tactics, but so too did Megatron. He and Prime are the only two Transformers that are very well skilled in this deadly art, something that the Decepticon leader was only too happy to learn that Optimus was also trained in during the war. He had hoped to challenge the great Autobot leader to it one day, and was glad to see that this would be the day.  
  
"Energon Combat?" Optimus says questioningly, "A perversed game of our dark times, how typical of you Megatron...but if this is how you wish to fight me...then so be it."  
  
"Not so perverse Optimus...a test of strength, warrior against warrior. As it should be."  
  
Megatron's hand retracts into his arm chamber and a bright glowing purple energy stream releases out of its socket. The energy beam contorts and forms into a large shape of a mace. A spiked ball that is attached to a linked chain. The form continues to glow in a soft purple hue as the energy holds it's form, pulsating and giving the look of raw power. Optimus Prime's hand now sinks back into his arm socket and also releases an energy bolt from it. His bright blue glowing energon stream now takes the shape of a massive axe; it too pulsates with raw energy and glows through the air as he moves it about. As the two giant robots stood on the dam bridge slowly being torn apart by the violent water pressure, the cracking of the large wall continued to happen and more water was now beginning to seep out of them. Megatron began to swing his purple mace in the air and cracked an evil grin at the Autobot leader. Prime raised his blue energon axe up and prepared himself for battle.  
  
"As the combatants use to say Optimus...'One shall stand and One shall fall, let victory come to those who deserve it!' "  
  
"On guard Megatron!"  
  
The swing of the Decepticon's mace came crashing down towards Optimus's axe; the sparks flew across the sky as the strike hit the two energy weapons. Prime deflected the attack with sheer skill as he made his counter swing at Megatron, a quick swipe that nearly struck the Decepticon's chest. Megaton continued to swing away at Prime, both in deflecting his attacks and trying to hit the Autobot as he made his moves. Optimus was powerful in his jabs and cuts; it wasn't hard to tell that this was an Autobot who knew what he was doing. In fact both were very skilled, neither one seemed to be able to make a deadly hit in spots they were aiming for. The sparks lit up the sky like fireworks, bright flashes of blue and purple shone through the area like passing suns. The news helicopter was hovering over the action and the camera operator kept himself poised on the spectacle below with the lens capturing the battle of the two robots. The news reporter standing near him was trying to shield his eyes from the bright flashes, but couldn't help but scream out a childish reaction to what he was seeing.  
  
"This is AWESOME!! Please tell me we're getting all of this?!"  
  
The camera operator smiles, "You bet your sweet ass we are!"  
  
Down in the water reservoir, Hound continues to battle with Rumble. The two robots are fist pounding each other like madmen and stirring up all the dirt from the bottom of the dam. Spike struggles to see if he can get any closer to help his friend, but the murky water makes it hard for him to fixate his eyes. Rumble and Hound now wrap their hands around each other's throats and both try to choke the life out of one another.  
  
"Gah! Give it up Hound...Ack! You don't have the...Ugh...strength to finish me."  
  
Hound struggles, "Shut up you little punk...Gaaah! I've got all the energy to ring your scrawny neck for hours!"  
  
Rumbles eyes soon show a weakness, he knows that Hound will probably do exactly as he means to say, he's battled him before and seen just how tough this Autobot truly is. He could feel his neck slowly being crushed by this green colored Autobot, and it was time for him to break free. Rumble transformed into his minidisk form, causing Hound to lose his grip on him, then he retransformed into his robot mode with his arm pile drivers attached. The mini robot pounded the Autobot in the face, causing Hound to fall to the bottom hard and knocked himself out cold. Rumble was impressed with his own handy work and laughed joyfully. The Decepticon looked up at the top of the water and scanned towards the surface, his eyes could see through the dirt and the sediment and saw young Spike trying to reach the surface in an attempt to get more air. The small robot continued to laugh and now made his way straight towards Spike. Hound remained lifeless on the bottom, giving only a faint moan as his internal systems repaired his injury. Spike finally reached the top of the water and gasped desperately for air, the rough water was too much for him and began swallowing it each time he inhaled. Suddenly a something rose behind him a few feet back, it was Rumble who was slowly moving towards him looking very ticked off.  
  
"So...you want to be an Autobot? Then maybe I should kill you like one as well huh?" he says to Spike laughing and swimming closer.  
  
Spike's eyes grow wide as he sees the robot heading straight for him.  
  
On the dam, Optimus Prime and Megatron continue to battle like mythical gods, energy flashes and electrical currents beam out of their weapons as the two make contact holding them in place as they force themselves on to each other.  
  
Megatron leans in to Optimus Prime's face, "Give it up Optimus...you will never best the likes of me! Unlike you...I will show no mercy and run you through like an energy blade through tin!"  
  
Prime struggles back and stares him down, "Never Megatron! NEVER!"  
  
Optimus Prime forcefully pushes the Decepticon away from him and quickly strikes at Megatron's shoulder as it becomes exposed. The crippling slash damages the evil leader's outer shell and makes him scream in pain. Megatron quickly steps back for a second and continues to defend himself from Optimus Prime's strikes, each time he hits down on him he screams out insults.  
  
"You're old Megatron, over the hill, past your expiry date!! Junk!!"  
  
The Decepticon's eyes once again flash bright red, "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"  
  
Prime pushes down one last hit, "JUNK! That's what you are...JUNK!"  
  
Megatron sceams out loud and whips his purple energon mace at Prime's head, the strike makes contact with him and sends the Autobot flying in back snap motion. Optimus crashes down onto the dam in a loud thud making the cracks along the dam stretch even higher. Megatron stands over the Autobot leader and laughs like a raving madman. He swings his mace down at him forcefully and Prime tries to shield himself from each blow.  
  
"Who's the junk now Prime?! You're just as old and out dated as the rest of the Autobot leaders that came before you...you're finished Prime.... it's over for you, Cybertron, Earth and the Universe!"  
  
Optimus Prime looks down and sees that Megatron's leg is near his laying beside it; he picks it up and knocks the leader over with it. The Decepticon tumbles to the ground and smashes his head to the hard surface. Optimus Prime stands up and brings his axe up to make the final blow to the leader lying helplessly on the ground. The Autobots fighting in the generator room and down below the dam pause to see him about to finish Megatron once and for all. Ironhide stares up and notices the leader hesitating.  
  
"Finish him off Prime! Do it now!!" the southern sounding robot screams up at him.  
  
Suddenly Optimus Prime hears another scream coming from behind him, this was not a voice like one of theirs, more like a human male voice in distress. It was Spike. Optimus Prime could instantly tell that was who it was, he had remembered the voice pattern of the dear friend and seemed to break his concentration as he heard the boy call out.  
  
"OPTIMUS!! HELP!!"  
  
As he looked behind, Rumble was holding on to the frail human and forcing him to drown. Prime didn't seem to care about Megatron anymore, only the safety of Spike who was in need of his assistance. Optimus looked at his energy axe and looked over at Rumble again, he brought his arm around and flung the weapon out towards the mini Decepticon harming his friend. The detached weapon struck Rumble; the impact was so devastating it launched him out of the water and clear across the reservoir. Megatron took advantage of this situation and tripped the Autobot leader with his leg, as Prime fell to the ground, Megatron took his Mace and swung it up into the air. As it came down towards the leader's face, Megatron gave his final words to him.  
  
"Victory to those who deserve it!!"  
  
The energon weapon thwarted the Autobot leader in the head and caused him to fall to the base of the dam. All of the Autobots saw him fall down and each one called out to him. As Megatron laughed with joy, Thundercracker screamed out of the sky and fired at all the unsuspecting Autobots trying to run over to help Optimus. The news helicopter was now in the way of the Decepticon jet's flight path and ended up hitting the blue jet as it came rushing in. The chopper lost it's tail and spun out of control to the ground. Jazz saw the hit, transformed into his Sportec car mode and drove over to where the chopper was about to crash. Quickly transforming again, he jumped up and caught the remaining vehicle in his arms.  
  
"Have no fear...Jazz is here!"  
  
With the humans safe on the ground, they all ran out and headed for safety. Ironhide shook with anger as the sight of his fallen leader caused him to go ballistic; he pointed his gun up at Megatron and continued to fire at the Decepticon leader as he screamed in defiant anger.  
  
"MEGAAAATRONNN!!!!"  
  
Megatron looked down and gave an evil grin.  
  
"Thundercracker!! Break the dam!!"  
  
Making his way again, the blue jet fired his weapons at the weakened wall and laughed at his leader's command.  
  
"Have a nice swim, Autobots!!"  
  
The shots didn't take much to break the wall, which quickly crumbled and rushed the water out like a speeding river. Megatron lifted himself off of the dam and flew high above in the air, his purple mace spun in the air as he rose higher and higher, all the while he was still laughing away at the Autobot's predicament.  
  
The Constructicons take a short break from the heavy building and gather around to discuss their progress. As they all confer with one another, a message is transmitted to the lead Constructicon, Scrapper.  
  
"Megatron to the Constructicons..."  
  
"This is Scrapper mighty Megatron. What are your instructions?"  
  
"It is no longer necessary to have prisoners.... kill them all and prepare for our return."  
  
The Constructicons all chuckle with grins on their faces and Scrapper signals back with much delight.  
  
"With pleasure Megatron..."  
  
The green transformer walks over to the humans trapped inside the barrier and looks down at them all. Inside the men and women stare up and give no reaction to his menacing form. That didn't seem to faze him much, he figures the humans have now been waiting for their deaths and are now prepared for the end. Switching off the energy cage, Scrapper takes out his weapon and prepares to fire at them. Hook, standing behind him, looks at the humans with curiosity. Just as Scrapper is about to pull the trigger, Hook shouts to him and walks over.  
  
"WAIT!"  
  
Scrapper looks back at him, "What? Why are you stopping me?"  
  
Hook looks down at the humans as he too now towers overhead of them all.  
  
"Why don't they cower in fear? Why are they not trying to make some sort of escape while the energy barrier is down? Look.... See how they don't even resist us at all."  
  
Scrapper laughs, "Why should they? Their prepared for their fates.... besides...humans are stupid creatures, they dare not try to escape us."  
  
Long Haul now joins them as he too looks in, the slightly wider transformer strokes his manifold chin and agrees with Hook.  
  
"He's right.... something isn't right about this. These creatures were fighting us even when we put them in there, now they're not even trying to fight back? Most un-natural."  
  
Scrapper looks down and brings his gun pointing straight at one of the humans. The young black officer doesn't even flinch as the barrel of his gun aims directly at his head. Scrapper's eyes narrow and fires the weapon. The energy blast rips into the man standing there and as soon as the smoke clears the Decepticon is surprised to see the human unharmed.  
  
"What is this trickery?"  
  
Scrapper takes his weapon and fires his weapon at them all, each shot doesn't damage any of them and none of the captured humans even move from their spots. The last shot fired by the angered Decepticons soon reveals the hidden truth. Something explodes in the center of the prison and all the people distort and fade away like a TV screen turning off. Hook can now see the small device appearing in the center and recognizes it immediately.  
  
"A hologram projector!!"  
  
Scrapper picks it up with his hand and crushes it, "NO.... An Autobot hologram projector to be precise! Constructicons...we've been duped!!"  
  
The six group green colored Decepticons run out into the valley and search all around, their eyes look everywhere for any piece of evidence of the escaped prisoners and even use their built in thermal optics to scan the grounds.  
  
"Search everywhere Constructicons!!" Scrapper yells out, "They must not escape!!"  
  
Just beyond the view of their eyes, out past the valley's rocky terrain, a small grumbling of a vehicle engine can be heard and a pair of tracks digging into the soft ground can be seen.  
  
"Are we almost there?" a voice whispers out of the air.  
  
"Shh! Quiet Carly...The Constructicons might hear you!"  
  
"Well, you're going so slow Mirage..."  
  
"Listen Carly...it's not easy carrying all these people and trying to conceal them all in my cloak. If I go too fast I might accidentally cause them to fall off. Now just hold on tight.... only mile to go."  
  
Another human voice pops out of thin air, a man's voice that doesn't seem to like the sound of Mirage's estimate.  
  
"Another Mile?? "  
  
"Shhhh....", Carly's voice says to him.  
  
The Constructicons were still looking about, then suddenly the one called Scavenger looks on the ground and sees the tire treads leading out into the valley.  
  
"Here! I've found something!"  
  
The others run over and look at his discovery. Hook crouches down on one knee and touches the tracks with his hands.  
  
"Hmmm...heavy, very heavy. Even for a it's own weight no doubt."  
  
Scrapper snaps his fingers, "Mirage...it has to be. He's the only one who could sneak in undetected!"  
  
Scavenger grumbles, "Mirage?! That coward? No way he could be in here without our knowing."  
  
Hook stands up and keeps his eyes out at the tracks beyond.  
  
"Not so...I've heard that he's been equipped with a cloaking device. A prototype the Autobots made for him..."  
  
Scrapper walks along the track lines and turns around to face the others, "Enough speculation! Just follow the tracks morons! He can't have gone far...not with all those humans to carry. Constructicons Transform!!"  
  
All six obey his command and each one converts into their specific construction vehicle mode. Long Haul as a dump truck, Scrapper as a pay loader, Hook as a crane, Scavenger as a digger, Mix Master as a cement mixer truck, and Bone Crusher as a bulldozer. All of them drove out fast along the car tracks and tried to catch up to the fleeing Autobot. With his sensors on full, Scrapper focuses in on the emission trial left behind by the intruder's exhaust. On the screen inside his cab, a graphic display shows the vapor trail getting stronger and stronger.  
  
"He is close Constructicons...keep moving and increase speed!"  
  
Suddenly the trail begins to die off and the tracks they're following disappear. The Constructicons all transform back into robot mode and look around the area to see were trail has gone. Scratching their heads, Long Haul and Scavenger give up.  
  
"They're long gone. We must have missed them somewhere back abit." Scavenger shrugs.  
  
"Maybe there was no Autobot...maybe the humans had that device all along and just snuck out without us knowing it."  
  
Scrapper turns around and hits them both on the head, "Shut up both of you! Megatron will be furious if we don't find them.... he'll deactivate us all if he learns of what happened...."  
  
Hook nods, "Yes...he would at that. But to avoid such an undesirable fate...perhaps we shouldn't mention it at all. Who's to say we didn't' kill the humans? Who else but us six are witnesses to it? And more to the point...who cares...it's not like we're going to be here for much longer."  
  
Scrapper is shocked by his fellow Constructicons, "Are you all mad? You would allow mere humans escape from our clutches? We're Decepticons!!"  
  
Bone Crusher shakes his head, "No! We're Constructicons. And what do a few mere humans mean to the likes of us. Megatron isn't here to witness it, just like Hook said...I want to get off this dirt planet and return to Cybertron."  
  
Mix Master raises his fist into the air, "Yes! Back to Cybertron. Where we can use the energon and finally take over...the Autobots will be finished and then we can crush Megatron with our combined strength as Devastator!!"  
  
Scrapper looks at them all with uncertain eyes, "Hmm...so long as we are all in agreement then. Very well...but just remember that we all must never tell what really happened here. We killed the humans...agreed?"  
  
The all look at one another, nod and reply back to him in unison, "Agreed!"  
  
"Then let us return to the ship and prepare for our...leader." Scrapper says with hesitance.  
  
They all transform again and speed back to the construction site, the dust blows behind them and soon tiny voices coughing can be heard as the vehicles leave the area. A bright green glow flashes and exposes the humans standing all around. Another bright green glow flashes behind them and now Mirage is seen with Carly as they walk over. Mirage wipes his brow and looks down at the young woman holding a small device.  
  
"Whew! I thought that second hologram of Hounds wouldn't hold up till we were clear. Guess it's drained huh Carly?"  
  
Carly looks at it, "Yep...energy levels are gone. Thank goodness they gave up so easily, otherwise we'd be in quite the pickle."  
  
The military soldiers huddled around the robot and woman; the ranking young male soldier shook Carly's hand.  
  
"You guys ought to be given a metal. You saved our butts..."  
  
Mirage leans down, "Save the praise later guys...we've got to get back to Autobot HQ before the Decepticons really find us here."  
  
Carly looks back at Mirage again, "Don't have to tell me twice...let's burn rubber!"  
  
Mirage transforms into his F1 car mode again and the humans all pile on top of him. He slowly drives out of the valley and heads for the road leading back towards the Autobot ship.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
As the Decepticons ascend to the sky, carrying the many energon cubes they've created, the Autobots all continue to fire up at them hoping to shoot one or any of them down. Ironhide is screaming away as he tries to target Megatron, never listening to Jazz as he tries to shake him out of his craze.  
  
"Ironhide! Let it go man! We've got a bigger problem then Megatron right now..."  
  
"Get off me Jazz!! I'm not letting this guy win again!!"  
  
Jazz looks both at the fleeing Decepticons and the rushing waters flowing out of the busted dam. With his fist clenched and one powerful back swing; he gives Ironhide a right cut across his chin. The Autobot falls to the ground and lies there in pain.  
  
"Get your priorities straight Ironhide! The humans come first.... remember Optimus Prime gave us an order...you got that soldier!"  
  
Looking over at the Autobots giving up the shooting and looking at him now, he barks orders at them all as if he's now the next in line for command.  
  
"Trailbreaker, Wheeljack! You two fix the dam walls. Sideswipe, Prowl, Sunstreaker, Bluestreak.... shift into trans-boost drive and save the humans ahead of the flood coming their way. And Ironhide...if you're not too whipped to lend a helping hand...maybe you and Cliffjumper can get ahead of the water and try to stop it somehow."  
  
They all salute and break into their separate teams. Ironhide gets help up from Cliffjumper and looks at him with anger.  
  
"We should go after the Decepticons!"  
  
"Later big guy...", Cliffjumper says, "Right now...we need to stop that water before it drowns every living thing in its path!"  
  
Ironhide nods, "Right.... right..."  
  
The red robot transforms into his Volkswagen Eurovan mode and opens his back hatch for Cliffjumper to step into. Cliffjumper hops inside and a large weapon pops out from Ironhides van floor. The weapon remains attached to the floor, but sits on a stand that is maneuverable for Cliffjumper to move around. The two race off heading for the front of the massive water wave rushing towards a human town near by. Sideswipe, Bluestreak, Sunstreaker and Prowl transform, and quickly Trans-boost for the human town as well. Trailbreaker and Wheeljack combine their special talents to stop the wall from spilling out more water. Trailbreaker, the all black transformer, uses his force field generator connected to his shoulder to hold the water in place. Wheeljack folds in his hand and quick drying foam launches out of it as he mends the entire wall.  
  
"Fill in that wall with your Silicon foam Wheeljack! I'll keep the water back with my force fields!"  
  
"You got it buddy...this silicon foam should keep the water fully contained and the pressure in check until the humans can repair the dam."  
  
Jazz scans the bottom for any sign of Optimus Prime and gathers more Autobots over to him as he looks in.  
  
"Bumblebee!! Huffer!! See anything??"  
  
Bumblebee shakes his head, "Nothing! Hey Brawn! What do you and Windcharger see?"  
  
Standing down further is Brawn and Windcharger...both look into the water and back up at Bumblebee.  
  
"Smokescreen dove in to have a look. Wait.... wait he's coming back up!"  
  
The stock car Autobot rose up out of the water, looking over at Brawn he shouts to him with panic, "I've found him!! Give me a hand for Primus's Sake!!"  
  
The two Autobots dive in to help him lift up the damaged leader, only a hand and an arm at first, but soon the three of them raise him completely to the surface and drag him over to land. Brawn kneels over as he gets out of the water and holds his leader's head.  
  
"Come on Optimus...Stay with us now.... show us that spark ol' man!"  
  
Spike tries to stay afloat in the deep water, he almost spilled out of the dam had it not been for Trailbreaker's force fields and Wheeljack's reinforcing foam. Still he struggled to keep himself above water, but from trying to fend off Rumble's attack and swimming against the water current, he could not stay afloat any longer. His eyes slowly began to shut from exhaustion and began to drown under the surface. Just as he seemed to lose the battle for life, a large robotic hand grabbed him from underneath and brought him back to the fresh air above. Hound totally emerged from the bottom of the reservoir and held on to Spike as he moved back to dry land. Climbing out of the water, the large green robot laid his friend down on the dirt ground and tried to gently revive him.  
  
"Spike! Spike wake up!"  
  
No movement came from the young man, Hound realized he'd have to quickly research his brain for uploaded data on how to save human drown victims. In his head he scanned the various files that were placed in there by Teletran One when they were re-awakened, quick as any computer could ever search, he found the very instructions he needed. Turning Spike over on his front, he slowly pumped the human's back area in a rhythmic motion, the slight pressure from the robot's strong hands forced the water out of Spike's lungs and soon heard his friend breathing again. Coughing out the liquid and gasping for air, Spike raised his hand up to show that he was all right again.  
  
"Thanks...COUGH! COUGH! ...Hound. I thought that was the end of me."  
  
Hound nodded at him, "You and me both Spike...I should be thanking you for trying to help me as well. That Rumble...He's got some major payback coming to him."  
  
Spike stands up and looks back at the remorseful robot that saved his life.  
  
"If you do see him again...be sure to give him one hell of a punch for me too."  
  
Hound smiles and laughs.  
  
Out beyond the dam, the water that escaped is still rushing down the valley beyond. In a near by town in it's wake, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Bluestreak and Prowl try to warn the townsfolk of the danger as they arrive in car mode. Booming out in a large stereo voice, Prowl flashes his lights and speaks to the people as if he was the law.  
  
"Attention everyone! This is an emergency! Please evacuate the area immediately for your own safety and protection! Once again, this is an emergency evacuation..."  
  
Sunstreaker races up beside Prowl, "Oh for Cybertron's sake.... These people won't respond to that..."  
  
"We can't start a panic Sunstreaker...these people need to eased out in a calm manner..."  
  
Sideswipe pulls up beside the other side of Prowl and sighs.  
  
"Yeah right.... this ain't no drill slick.... time to motivate these people but fast!"  
  
Sideswipe transforms out of his car mode and stands over the town in his towering robotic form. Aiming his weapon in the air, he fires multiple shots and shouts out to the humans all staring up at him in amazement.  
  
"Wooooo-Yah!! You heard my buddy everyone...MOOOOVE!!!"  
  
Sunstreaker and Bluestreak transform as well and also fire their weapons in the air. The sight of the gun shooting robots causes the humans to run for their very lives. Dropping everything and grabbing children, the people sprint, drive and use any form of transportation to get out of the robot's way. All three Autobots laugh as they feel like their rustling cattle, but Prowl transforms and shouts at them all.  
  
"Stop that right NOW!"  
  
Sunstreaker giggles, "Why? Have a look will ya.... they're motivated aren't they?"  
  
Prowl scowls at him, "You arrogant lunk heads! These people don't need to be terrorized by a bunch of gun happy robots. We're not Decepticons, so learn to have some respect for these people!!"  
  
Bluestreak looks embarrassed by his actions and agrees, "You're right Prowl. We should have handled it better.... we'll make sure no one was hurt or left behind in the panic. Ok?"  
  
Prowl turns around and walks away, "Just make sure you do that guys...we're here to help, not to send the humans in frenzy."  
  
Sideswipe shrugs his shoulders at his brother Sunstreaker, "Geez...That guy needs to take a energon pill or something. He's as bad as Kup..."  
  
Sunstreaker nods, "Must be part of his training.... grumpy see as grumpy do."  
  
In front of the rushing water heading towards the town, Ironhide speeds in front of it as Cliffjumper manages his laser gun inside. The smaller mini- red robot takes aim at the rushing flood and targets the ground ahead of it as they speed.  
  
"Keep it steady Ironhide! We need to slow down this new river before it floods the whole valley!"  
  
"You just fire the laser Cliffjumper...I'll do the driving if you don't mind!", the surly southern speaking Euro van says back.  
  
Cliffjumper fires the laser cannon and a beam slices into the ground like a knife through butter. He creates a bunch of small channels for the water to break into and manages to slow down the flood's progress. Each new cut into the ground splits the water into other directions and makes it thin out as it still rushes towards them. Soon the rushing water begins to die down and the last cut he makes ends up stopping the speeding flood from reaching the town. Satisfied with the completion of his task, Cliffjumper hops out of Ironhide, while he in turn transforms back to robot mode to shake his friend's hand in a job well done.  
  
"So much for that...."  
  
Cliffjumper snickers, "Dah, that was nothin'...Megatron will have to do better then that to get the best of us."  
  
Ironhide gasps in realization, "What about Prime?! Come on we've got to go back!"  
  
The two robots transform and race back towards the dam. 


	13. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 13 – The Prime Concern  
  
The Decepticons return to their ship still under construction, as Megatron lands he sees the Constructicons stepping forward to greet them all.  
  
"Welcome back mighty Megatron." Scrapper says to him.  
  
"Save your greetings Scrapper.... how much longer will it take to build this shuttle?"  
  
Scrapper scratches his head, "It's taking more time then usual Megatron. What with the Autobots and human interfering...."  
  
Megatron places his hands on his hips, "No excuses...I want results. Did you eliminate the human captors?"  
  
The Constructicons looked at one another and then Scrapper quickly replied back.  
  
"Oh...yes...yes we destroyed them. Vaporized to be more precise. Why bother burying the bodies...much better to get rid of any evidence."  
  
Megatron chuckles, "Such ruthlessness...if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you're trying to out do me? Bu-hahahaha!"  
  
The Constructicons all nervously laughed along with the leader, all of them began to back away and continue doing their jobs. Scrapper was the only one still standing in front of the evil leader as he continued to question him.  
  
"Now then," Megatron spoke, "We've brought more energon for you to store and the sooner you finish the shuttle, the sooner we can get off this miserable planet."  
  
"We need more alloy Megatron, as you can see the ship is only half constructed..."  
  
As the two continue to talk away, Starscream and the others hang out near the energon cube piles and boast about their attack on the dam.  
  
"Optimus Prime must be dead. Megatron took one hell of a swing at his head and boy...you should have seen him fall. It was beautiful.", Thundercracker says to them standing all around.  
  
They all laugh at the thought, then Rumble steps up and talks about his favorite moment.  
  
"You should have seen the look on Hound's face."; Rumble says to Skywarp standing near him, "I sent that military moron to the bottom of a watery grave with my trusted pile divers! Nobody...but nobody messes with the likes of Rumble! Hehehe."  
  
Skywarp laughs, "Yeah right...Hound is probably still alive and lookin' to kick your backside Rumble. We were the ones in the real battle..."  
  
The tri-robot group of Reflector walked up and agreed with the black jet robot.  
  
"Yes...the real fight was with the Autobots and not struggling with some weakling human. We saw you having trouble trying to subdue the small flesh creature."  
  
Rumble didn't like Reflector's smug answer, "Aw shut up, I wasn't struggling with him...I was about ready to take that human out if it hadn't been for Optimus Prime."  
  
Thundercracker laughed at him, "I might have been late for the battle...but I saw you struggling alright. You had plenty of time to take out that human before Prime knocked you out of the water. What's the matter Rumble...human kick you with his soft boot? HAHAHAHA!"  
  
Rumble jumps onto Thundercracker and begins pounding his fist into his face.  
  
"Oh yeah? How bout this struggle...and that struggle.... how bout one of these too? Huh? HUH?"  
  
Starscream walks over and backslaps Rumble off of Thundercracker. As the mini-robot lies on the ground, the large air commander hovers over him and points his arm cannon at his face.  
  
"Enough! I want to test these energon cubes before we store them in the ship. Go get me the laser cannons that haven't been mounted yet and hook them up!"  
  
Rumble trying not to look scared looks up at Starscream and questions his command.  
  
"What? Are you nuts? Megatron doesn't want to waste our energy like that...besides why do you need to test them?"  
  
Pushing his arm cannon deeper into the mini robot's face, Starscream glares at him intensely.  
  
"Don't question me Rumble. Megatron may be the leader, but as second in command I in turn command all of you. So do as I instruct or I'll melt that puny brain of yours back into the dust it was spawned from."  
  
Rumble gulps and nervously smiles.  
  
Soundwave who looks deeply concerned approaches Megatron; the leader motions Scrapper to leave him as he now focuses on his communications officer.  
  
"Back to work Scrapper...we'll get you the materials you need."  
  
"Yes Megatron."  
  
Scrapper bows and returns to the ship to continue on its construction.  
  
"Megatron...", Soundwave now says to him, "I have calculated the energon amount we have successfully collected so far..."  
  
"Well done Soundwave, continue..."  
  
The image on Soundwave's chest plate shows graphical data as he talks about their supply.  
  
"Energon is at maximum capacity, we have enough to fuel our return to Cybertron and restore most of our power."  
  
Megatron smiles with delight, "Perfect...just enough to give us an edge over the Autobots and return back to this planet for a full scale energy drain."  
  
"However..." Soundwave reluctantly begins to speak, "There is a slight problem."  
  
Megatron's smile diminishes, "What problem? I thought you said there were no problems..."  
  
Soundwave points over to Starscream and the group of Decepticons just finishing hooking up a power cable to the stack of energon. Megatron's eyes grow wide with surprise as he is witnessing his second in command firing the massive laser cannon. Starscream fires the weapon at a near by cliff and shatters the rocky side in an explosion that creates a large crater. Smiling at the results, Starscream laughs hardily at the amount of destruction and turns around to the others in pride full joy.  
  
"IT WORKS! IT WORKS!!"  
  
Megatron stomps angrily towards the air commander and shakes his fist at him.  
  
"Starscream you idiot!! What in the blazes do you think your doing?!"  
  
"Testing the energy output of these energon cubes of yours. And look.... see how it works perfectly."  
  
Megatron steps in closer to him, "Of course it works you moron! But now look what you've done, you've drained half of our resources in a matter of seconds you dolt!"  
  
The pale grayish robotic jet folds his arms together and looks away from the leader's face.  
  
"You didn't know...these cubes needed to have a proper test to see if they were stable. Without my experiment we wouldn't have sure if they worked at all. Had we gone back to Cybertron without giving them a sample test...we would have surly failed."  
  
Grabbing the air commander's arm in anger, Megatron brought him in close to his face.  
  
"The only thing you proved is that you're a complete idiot! Now we need to make two strikes instead of one. To get more metal for the shuttle and now to restock the energon you just selfishly wasted! From now on, you are not to make any decision without my approval and you will not be in charge of any other Decepticon except your own air force.... count this as mistake number two Starscream..."  
  
"Do not threaten me Megatron...one day I shall be the leader. All Decepticons will bow to my will..."  
  
Megatron snickers, "Never...you couldn't lead androids to a picnic, let alone lead the Decepticon armies. The day you become leader is the day you get the best of me...and sadly Starscream...that day will never arrive for you. So keep in line and know your place...understood?"  
  
Megatron lets go of his arm and turns around walking away. Starscream regrets that those words might ring true for him. He hates the fact that the Decepticon leader is correct, but the itch for him to lead is too great for the likes of letting Megatron stand in his way for power and glory. Shaking mad from the slivery robot's cruel words, Starscream's eyes squint at him and as the leader continues to walk away, Starscream aims his two arm cannons at the leader's back.  
  
"Megatron! Look out!" Soundwave shouts in his monotone voice.  
  
But the warning came too late, as he was instantly shot by Starscream as he screamed in a furious rage, the leader's back exploded from the impact and threw him face down onto the ground. The leader lay motionless as smoke rose from his damaged back. All the Decepticons saw that he was not getting up and felt that the attack did infact kill the leader. They now all looked up at Starscream and saw him chuckling in joy. The robotic jet commander raised his arms up in victory and continued to laugh away.  
  
"The mighty Megatron has fallen!! I am now the new leader of the Decepticon Empire!! Where Megatron has failed, I shall now lead you to victory! Optimus Prime, the Autobots and this insignificant planet shall now be vanquished in the name of Starscream!! Bwa-ahahahahahahaha!!!!"  
  
Starscream gloats to all the Decepticons who are in shock of his deadly blow to the evil leader. The air commander turns around and faces Soundwave, the one who tried to warn Megatron of the shot.  
  
"How dare you try to sabotage my right to become leader! Traitor! I should have you torn apart limb from limb and reprogram you to be nothing more then a light post!!"  
  
Soundwave lowers his head as Starscream screams away, but quickly he looks up again proudly and points his finger at him.  
  
"You are not the leader of the Decepticons! You are nothing more then a coward!"  
  
Starscreams red eyes flash in anger, "How dare you! How dare you say that to me!!"  
  
Pointing his right arm cannon at the defiant Decepticon, Starscream snickers as he watches Soundwave cower in fear from it being pointed at his head.  
  
"I shall teach you a lesson in humility, the likes of which no other Decepticon has ever faced!!"  
  
Suddenly a voice grumbles out from behind him, "How amusing Starscream...I was just about to say the same thing."  
  
Turning around, Starscream gasped in amazement as he saw Megatron rising up from the ground and standing to face him once again.  
  
"M-M-Megatron! I thought.... I thought...."  
  
The evil leader scowled at the mumbling traitor, "Thought what Starscream? That your puny weapons could damage me in the slightest? I am so very happy to disappoint you."  
  
"Yes...I mean no...I.... I mean..."  
  
Megatron took slow steps towards the shaking air commander, each step made the robotic jet take one foot back.  
  
"I am indestructible fool!", The evil leader shouts, "And now that I've seen just how far your treachery goes...I think it's high time I correct this oversight once and for all! How did you just phrase it a minute ago? Aaaaah Yes, by teaching you a lesson in humility the likes no Decepticon has every seen!!"  
  
Starscream's eyes grow wide with panic as Megatron aims his fusion arm cannon at him, blubbering in fear; the air commander begins to beg for his very life.  
  
"Spare me Megatron! I was weak! You.... you can't destroy me, I'm too valuable!"  
  
"You? Valuable?", the leader begins to laugh, "Don't be absurd! If you were going to finish me, you should have followed through and finished the job. But your too sloppy Starscream, just like everything you've done over the eons and now it's time to take out that weakness this Empire can no longer afford! You...valuable....Bah! What makes you so valuable to me?"  
  
Starscream holds out his arms in a defensive position, as if he'll be able to stop the blast from striking him down.  
  
"I'm the most qualified scientist you've got...I...I...I know how to create new devices...and...and..."  
  
"Good bye Starscream...", the leader says to him now targeting his arm weapon directly at him, "Death to all traitors!"  
  
Megatron's fusion cannon recoils and the energy blast strikes the screaming air commander in the arm. Shattering his left shoulder, the arm is completely blown off and sends the limb flying off behind him. Starsceam screams in sheer pain and drops to his knees, the gnarled shoulder leaks out energon and vital oil fluids. He holds on to the nub with his other hand and continues to whimper in pain. Megatron barely moved, but with his shadow cast down on the wounded Decepticon, he forces Starscream to look up at him as he talks.  
  
"Let that be a lesson in humility for you.... that was mistake number three. There are no more after that.... if you so much as betray me again, I'll have the Constructicons form Devastator and have him take you apart servo by servo. I should kill you right now and here...but...I still do need you, unfortunately. The Autobots could still be a threat to us and I need every last soldier I can spare...including you."  
  
Starscream bows to the ground grateful.  
  
"Thank you Megatron, thank you.... I shall not fail."  
  
"Indeed you had best not." Megatron says looking down at him, "And now...you must earn your rank back again. From now on...you are no longer my second in command, no longer the leader of the air forces and you will not do anything.... ANYTHING!.... without my approval. Is that completely understood?"  
  
Looking somewhat regretful and even somber, Starscream nods gently and agrees under his breath.  
  
"Yes....Megatron."  
  
Turning to Soundwave, Megatron smirks at him and pats him on the shoulder.  
  
"You've just been promoted Soundwave. See to it that our next objectives are put in motion...at least there is one Decepticon that knows his place well."  
  
Soundwave nods, "As you command Mighty Megatron."  
  
"Thundercracker!", Megatron yells.  
  
Running over and saluting him, Thundercracker tries not to stare directly at the leader.  
  
"Yes Megatron!"  
  
"You may have Starscream's position...you will now lead the jet force, that is, until Starscream can be trusted again."  
  
Thundercracker smiles and salutes the leader again.  
  
"Yes sir. I think we'll be waiting a long time for that to happen...sir!"  
  
Megatron chuckles at his answer, "Well spoken...you'll go far Thundercracker. In the mean time...have someone repair that idiot's arm. We must have all our warriors fully prepared for battle...hadn't we?"  
  
Thundercracker nods in agreement, the entire group of robots laugh at the air commander and Megatron walks away from the group as they continue to enjoy Starscreams humiliation. The damaged commander still kneels in pain, the laughter makes his eyes flinch and scowls at all of the Decepticions standing over him and laughing.  
  
"Megatron may have won this time...", He thinks to himself, "But I will have my revenge.... and someday.... I will make him suffer."  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Inside a slightly darkened room, with monitors and blinking lights on the walls, lies Optimus Prime on a rusty orange table. The monitor graphics show his energy output and make a pinging noise every time it spikes now and then. His body looks fully repaired from the damage done earlier, yet he still remains unconscious. As he lies there, sounds, voices, and old memories begin to haunt his mind as if they're coming from all around the room like a stereo. The mass jumble of it all fills his head; in it he can hear the screams of his people as the bombs blow up their Autobot base on Cybertron.  
  
"Your our only hope Prime", the voice of Ultra Magnus says.  
  
The continued sounds of weapons fire and explosions now mix in with the sound of human cries and blood curling screams.  
  
"Help Us Optimus!! Help Us!!"  
  
Prime's own voice cries out in his mind as he tries to call out to them.  
  
"I can't...I have to leave for Cybertron. No! No Megatron! Don't...please...the humans!! NOOOO!!"  
  
The large explosion in his mind causes his head to twist about, Megatron's constant laughing is stirring him awake slowly. As it grows louder and louder, a faint angelic voice peers out from it's on going taunt and awakens him like a kiss.  
  
"Optimus.... wake up my love.... wake up."  
  
Sitting up fully awake and eyes wide with a glowing surge of blue, he cries out to the voice as he instantly remembers whom it belongs too.  
  
"Elita One!!"  
  
The nightmare was over for him; he clasps his head in sorrow as he fondly remembers his lost friends on Cybertron. As he tries to deal with the memories and flood of voices, Ratchet walks over from the chair he had been sitting in all along.  
  
"So you're awake.... welcome back to the land of the living. Did you have a bad dream?"  
  
Prime now turns himself and sits on the side of the table he had been laying on.  
  
"All I ever have are bad dreams. One nightmare after the other."  
  
Ratchet pats his back for comfort, "Don't be so hard Prime...there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. That's what one of the humans told me anyhow."  
  
"The Humans..."Optimus says looking over at Ratchet, "What happened? Is the dam alright...were any of them hurt?"  
  
Ratchet folds his arms, "No, no...they're all fine. The others managed to stop the floodwaters before it took out a small town. And the dam was quickly patched up before anymore spilled out."  
  
Prime sighs with relief, "Thank the Matrix."  
  
Just as the leader stands to his feet, Spike, Ironhide and Bumblebee enter the room amazed to see Optimus fully recovered.  
  
"PRIME!", Spike shouts.  
  
"I knew you'd come back to us Optimus!", Bumblebee says rushing to his side.  
  
Ironhide stands in front of the leader and pats his shoulder.  
  
"Bout time you ended your beauty nap...Welcome back Prime!"  
  
"Good to see all of you as well." Optimus says back to the welcoming group, "Tell me...how long have I been out."  
  
Spike cheerfully answers, "Not long at all Prime. We quickly brought you back here to have Ratchet get to work on you."  
  
"And Megatron...", he softly asks.  
  
Bumblebee sighs, "He got away Optimus...sorry...but we had the humans to save and you as well."  
  
Prime kneels down to Bumblebee's height and looks at him, "You did right Bumblebee...don't be ashamed, lives come first...fighting is secondary."  
  
While Prime continues to kneel there, Spike walks over to touch his hand.  
  
"I want to thank you Optimus...for saving me. Rumble nearly tore my arms off...if you hadn't stopped him...I.... I might have..."  
  
"You're welcome Spike. I really wish you would stop thanking me for just doing what's right...It is we who should thank you for bringing us all back from the dead."  
  
Spike hangs his head, "Well...I wish I could have woken you up before Megaton. Then maybe...all of this wouldn't have been such a mess."  
  
Ironhide looks down at him, "Yeah well...wishing ain't gonna change things. Enough of this mushy garbage...what's the new plan Optimus? How are we gonna stop Megatron?"  
  
Optimus Prime stands up again, "I don't know Ironhide...for the first time, I'm not really sure how we can attack him without harming any of the humans. He seems to use them as shields all the time. A true sign of a coward."  
  
Spike looks up again at Prime and Ironhide, "Actually...Hound has an idea. Ever since Carly and Mirage came back with the hostages, he's been mulling over a big plan...I think he'd like to have you have a listen to it Optimus."  
  
Prime rubs his chin in thought, "Hmm...well, if Hound is going to suggest something, I think I'd like to hear from all of the Autobots. Perhaps if we share our opinions we might formulate a better attack strategy."  
  
Ironhide salutes, "Will do Prime."  
  
The red robot walks out of the room with Bumblebee, Spike is almost out the door when he looks back and sees Optimus looking rather concerned. Spike figures it must not be easy for the leader, juggling both the safety of the Autobots and the Humans. A huge burden to bear for any leader, still Prime looks as though he's unsure about himself and his ability to protect all concerned. Perhaps this meeting is a chance for him to let others make some of the tougher choices, or even just to give him some new ideas. In any event, Spike feels for this large robotic leader, and as the doors close on him as he leaves room, Spike tries to think of a plan himself before the others gather.  
  
"I'm running out of time.... and ideas.", Prime whispers to himself.  
  
Ratchet hears the leader as he folds away the table Prime was just laying upon, the metal bed lowers into the floor and becomes one with it as if it was placed into it like a jigsaw puzzle. Stepping over the returning floor piece, Ratchet tries to once again console the troubled leader.  
  
"Listen Optimus...no one expects you to have all the answers. You've got so much to think about right now it's easy to see how the future might look a bit hazy. You've managed to listen to all of us before during the war and even inspired us all to see beyond our own basic programming."  
  
Optimus sighs, "A lot of good it's done us. I've managed to wipe out our remaining forces on Cybertron, shown Megatron a new planet to plunder and continually endangering the lives of these fragile creatures. I feel as if I've single handedly doomed the universe by my actions. What kind of leader is that I ask you Ratchet?"  
  
Ratchet grabs hold of the somber leader and looks directly in his line of vision.  
  
"Optimus Prime, you are the greatest leader any Autobot has ever followed. We would have faded out into the darkness of Cybertron had it not been for your leadership. Other's tried to lead...Megatron managed to wipe them all out before they even got the chance, but you.... you alone were the one that stood up and made him take notice. I've heard some Decepticons say they've never encountered a leader quite like you. Your strong, you never give up and you are not going to let that manic take over the universe..."  
  
"How do you know I won't? Perhaps I'm not the one to lead us out of this mess.... nor the one to liberate Cybertron."  
  
Ratchet lets go of him and calmly gazes at him as the leader stands there looking at him.  
  
"Because you were chosen by the Matrix. No leader in our history has ever bore that mantle and not found a way to bring us back into focus. The Matrix of Leadership chose you because it believes that you are the one to make us whole again. I remember you telling me along time ago Prime...It called to you by name, no transformer has had its name spoken by it since the last Cybertronian leader that was chosen before."  
  
Prime straightens up and pats his chest; deep inside the Matrix sits inside well protected within him.  
  
"Yes...not since the Third Cybertronian war. Somehow, it became lost soon after its end and was handed to me as the Fourth War began. I wish I could remember who that man was who gave it to me...somehow...he seemed to know that it was looking for me."  
  
The leader once again looks at Ratchet with a grateful nod and taps his shoulder.  
  
"Thank you for reminding me who I am...and for letting me ramble on about my doubts."  
  
Ratchet smiles, "Forget it Optimus. It happens to the best of us, if we didn't have our doubts now and then...we'd be no better then empty drones."  
  
Walking out the medical room door together, Optimus and Ratchet laugh as the leader shakes off his woes.  
  
"Come on then Ratchet, lets show Megatron just how dangerous our Autobot minds can be, huh?"  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Deep within the underground lair of Area 51, Doctor Archeville calmly walks through the dark grey corridors. The echoing of his shoes clicking below bounce around the entire length of the hallway as each step bring him in and out of the various lights shining down like spotlights. The corridor shows no sign of decoration, no pictures hanging on the walls and not even a basic floor design that one would usually see down a hall. Totally grey with black lines separating the various doorways and breaks in the walls are all that can be seen. If someone was visiting for the first time, they'd be sure to be lost in the matter of seconds, the doors have a special labeling system that only come in the form of secret symbols. These symbols are the code that the members of this secret organization have created, the only way that they can make sure no one else can translate any of it should their building be breached. The Doctor continues to walk calmly down the hall, a man deep in thought that is soon broken as one of his men in black steps out from another door ahead of him.  
  
"Sir!"  
  
"Yes my boy what is it?" he says to the young Caucasian man facing him.  
  
"We've been monitoring the Decepticons as you asked and we picked up a large energy signature a few minutes ago. In fact when we looked from the new orbiting satellite...we discovered a large crater on the side of the cliff face near their position."  
  
"Indeed?" Archeville says with his eyebrows raised.  
  
The young man hands him a few photographs from the satellite, which clearly shows the cliff before and one image of it afterwards.  
  
"Incredible. It only took them a few minutes to activate a powerful weapon like that; it must be those special cubes they've developed. It must concentrate the energy into a pure form...almost like unleashing the raw power from the sun itself. Good work...make sure you men keep a sharp eye on them."  
  
The young man salutes, "Yes Sir!"  
  
As the one man leaves down the hallway, another one steps up behind the aging doctor.  
  
"Yes Agent Drakemore you have something for me..."Archeville says sighing.  
  
"How did you know it was me?"  
  
Turning around to face him, the doctor simply chuckles to himself and smirks.  
  
"After being on this project as long as I have...I've come to know the sound of every one of my men's foot steps. Now stop looking so surprised and report."  
  
"Just thought I'd bring you up to speed about the General. He and his men are not following our orders to return to base, those that did return told us that the General is thinking of helping the Autobots launch a major offensive against the Decepticon ship again."  
  
The Doctor shakes his head, "The fool. You'd think by know he'd know his place, I guess I'll have to remind him of who's really in charge of this whole operation."  
  
"And another thing sir..."Drakemore now tries to add to the conversation. "Chip Chase has contacted us. It appears he's made a major breakthrough, he now believes that the project could be fully operational within four months."  
  
"Four months??" Archeville's voice rises, echoing through the entire corridor. "I gave him instructions to make it happen sooner!"  
  
Drakemore squints at the old man's howling.  
  
"Sir...he said this time it is an accurate time to completion. But he also wanted me to give you this as proof that it is working as planned."  
  
The agent hands Archeville a small palm pilot device that shows strange numbers and scrolling data. As the doctor snaps it out of the man's hands angrily, his eyes grow wide with satisfaction as he reads the information on it.  
  
"Yes.... yes.... this is marvelous!! There's enough on here to get started right away!!"  
  
Drakemore relaxes now that the aging doctor has become less tense. Archeville giggles like a child as he closely looks at the data on the mini- pad. Drakemore clears his throat to snap the giggling madman's attention again.  
  
"Huh? Oh yes, yes my boy...Go and tell Chip that he may have those four months, but not one more month or day over the time. Otherwise he'll be finding himself filled with lead bars and dropping to the bottom of the ocean. The final warning he gets from me, understand?"  
  
Drakemore nods obediently, "Yes sir...I'll see that he understands completely."  
  
"Good. Now go...and also phone up the General...I want to speak to him as soon as possible."  
  
Once again the agent nods like a servant and walks down the corridor in the opposite direction. Still giggling like a little boy, Archeville continues to stare at the pad with great interest. The sounds of his shoes clicking are soon the only things to be heard as the hallway once again become silent to only him. 


	14. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 14 – The Trap Is Set  
  
On Telatran One's large screen in the main room, images of Decepticon jets flying into a steel manufacturer site plays out as the Autobots all stand around to watch it unfold. Optimus Prime stands in front of the screen watching carefully as the computer talks to him.  
  
"Red Alert! Red Alert! Decepticon activity in progress!! Human steel processing plants are being raided in several areas of this country."  
  
Prime gazes at the images with a intensity, "So.... they need more metal."  
  
Telatran One once again speaks up, "Alert! Decepticon activity now detected at two military nuclear missile bases in neighboring states. Megatron and remaining Decepticon forces now confirmed at site."  
  
Ironhide's voice booms out from behind Prime, "And it looks like their trying to take a few weapons with them!"  
  
Optimus shakes his head, "No...more like they want to steal the energy. Megatron must be still behind in gathering what he needs.... at least that will buy us more time."  
  
Bumblebee points to the screen, "Looks like Starscream isn't leading the jets anymore. Thundercracker seems to be giving the orders to him and Skywarp. Heh! Look at scowl on that face...how the mighty have fallen."  
  
The leader turns around to see them all standing around him and the screen. Cliffjumper shakes his fist and steps in closer.  
  
"That Megatron! I'd love to melt his hide back to the carbon-bonded atoms from where he came!! Why don't we go and stop them Optimus? Why are we sitting here on our butts and letting this all happen??"  
  
Prime points to the small robot to get back in line, "At ease soldier...as you were!"  
  
The small red robot steps back in his place and grumbles softly to himself. Prowl now raises his hand and Optimus Prime nods at him to say his peace.  
  
"Cliffjumper makes a valid point Prime. Why don't we split up and take them on?"  
  
The leader sighs, "Because it would be too late.... by the time any of you rushed over...they'd be long gone. We need a place to fight all of them without endangering anymore of the human's lives. We can't just keep going around and shooting the place up without thinking of poor innocent that would surly be caught in the crossfire. We can be more easily repaired then they can."  
  
"So what are you saying Prime? Just let the Decepticons have what they want and leave?", Trailbreaker now says aloud.  
  
"No...I'm not saying we should ...", Prime says trying defend his words. "But we have to think before we act.... Megatron wants us to fight near the humans. He knows they are human shields for his army and that we wouldn't be able to fight back with them in the way."  
  
Sideswipe snarls, "Then how the heck are we supposed to fight them Optimus? No offence to those present...but...If it means some casualties of a few humans, I'm sorry to say we're going to have to let it happen."  
  
Spike, Carly, Sparkplug and the General all stand below them in shock at the answer.  
  
"Oh that's a nice attitude Sideswipe...why not just kill the whole species have done with it then.", Carly snaps at him.  
  
Sunstreaker looks down at her and tries to defend his friend's opinion, "Come on Carly...this isn't the time to be so naive, in order to take out this creep we need to do our job.... humans will get in the way and we might not have any control over that."  
  
The General sighs, "Every war has its casualties Sunstreaker...but soldiers should be the ones giving their lives, not innocent civilians."  
  
Huffer snickers, "Yeah right, we've seen the images from your war history.... you guys ain't exactly on the button in protecting the innocent either. So don't tell us how to fight."  
  
Soon the room becomes flooded with heated arguments, everyone is trying to justify their thoughts onto each other and making the noise level increase higher and higher. Prime can no longer stand the voices raging out of control.  
  
"Alright quiet down people...I said that's ENOUGH!!" Prime shouts out loud throughout the room.  
  
Everyone stops arguing and pays attention to him again.  
  
"This debate is over. We need a new plan of action and we need one right now, I want all suggestions anyone can give...and I want them one at a time. Hound...I heard you have an idea about something...tell me the idea."  
  
Hound nods, "Right. Well, I was listening to Carly and Mirage's report on how my small holo-projectors did as they rescued the hostages and it gave me a jolt in the head. If I could create a large illusion...one so big that it makes the Decepticons notice...it might just be the perfect way to lure them back to us and spring a trap for them."  
  
Gears groans, "Oh that's stupid. Megatron won't go for some silly hologram...come on Hound, he's not an idiot."  
  
Hound steps out of the line up and walks over to Optimus Prime who still pays attention to him as he continues.  
  
"I mean a hologram that even Megatron couldn't resist! Think about it Optimus...we could mask the signature to send out an false energy reading so that it could look like a massive power station!"  
  
Prime soon catches on to what Hound is thinking, "You mean...give him the impression that it actually exists."  
  
Bumblebee scratches his head, "Uh...and how do we do that...exactly Hound. I mean it's not like we could send him an invitation or anything."  
  
Hound looks at Optimus, suddenly it dawns on the leader on what Hound is trying to get at, "Ravage."  
  
The green robot nods at the leader, "Ravage. We let him escape back to the Deceptions with our planted info and let them come to us for a change. Somewhere far away from the humans and just the right amount of space for us to thrash us some 'cons!"  
  
Ironhide smiles and rubs his hands, "Oooh that's sneaky Hound, I love how your brain works my friend!"  
  
Prime rubs his chin in thought, "Hmmm...I dunno. If Megatron gets too close, he might discover our trick, plus he may not bring all the Decepticons with him."  
  
"I know Prime, but without Megatron...the others won't be able to stay focused. When he's out of the way...it will be easy pickings."  
  
Spike looks up at Hound, "But what about the Constructicons? I've heard you say they can combine into a massive robot...how do you intend to stop them if they do?"  
  
The green robot sighs and shrugs his shoulders at him; "I dunno Spike...we'll jump that bridge when we come to it I guess. But this is better then nothing...and certainly better then letting them bully us around to their terms."  
  
Optimus nods, "Agreed. Megatron is the lynch pin in their whole works, once he falls, the others will become disoriented. That's when our jobs will become much easier. A good plan Hound...I for one am in favor of it. How say all of you?"  
  
The Autobots all smile and raise their hands, Cliffjumper pouts with his side turned, but a quick elbow to the back from Wheeljack makes him reluctantly raise his hand as well.  
  
"Alright Hound...it seems you're plan is approved. What do you need to make this happen?" Prime says to him.  
  
Hound looks down at the General, "Begging your pardon General, but if you and your men could scrounge up some energy for me...I'd really appreciate it."  
  
The army commander smiles, "Consider it done. We've got some tankers filled with fuel you can have and I'll see about having some of the batteries being drained for your use as well."  
  
"I know my men have some extra fuel and battery power you can use as well Hound." Sparkplug says entering the conversation. "Anything we can spare is all yours."  
  
As the General gives a righteous nod to Sparkplug for lending his support, one of the commander's men comes rushing up and salutes him.  
  
"Sir! You have a call coming in from HQ...priority one!"  
  
The General sighs, "Very well private.... come one then."  
  
The two walk out of the room and out of the Ark. Spike notices Carly sitting by herself as the Autobots all begin to help Hound build his holographic generators. He cautiously walks up to her and crouches down to her eye level.  
  
"What's up? You look so down."  
  
Carly stares at him and wipes a tear running down her face.  
  
"Oh Spike...it's just.... everything is catching up with me is all. The loss of human lives, this damn Autobot/Decepticon war...I guess I'm just taking the time to take it all in."  
  
Spike, so unsure on how to deal with a woman like her, takes a bold step and holds her hand in comfort.  
  
"I know what you mean. I've seen so much death and destruction...it seems like it's only getting worst as we go. Prime's a good guy and he tries to protect us all...I just hope he can save us. You're not alone in feeling this way Carly..."  
  
His words seem like small comfort to her as she starts to shed more tears, he struggles to think of what to say next and then holds her chin up to look into her eyes.  
  
"Listen Carly. I know you and I got off on the wrong foot when we met...hell...you sure ripped one into me. Summed me up in two seconds didn't ya?"  
  
Carly begins to laugh at the memory of the moment and Spike giggles along with her as she begins to cheer up.  
  
"But you've been like a rock through all of this and I couldn't have done anything without your help. None of the Autobots could have.... infact.... I'd say that you're the best example of humanity they've ever seen. As well as the prettiest."  
  
Spike suddenly realized he blurted out the one thing he shouldn't have and became nervous. His eyes began to shift like a terrified child and removed his hand while quickly standing up. Carly was obviously flattered by his sincerity and stood up smiling at him.  
  
"Thank you Spike. You're a good guy...I shouldn't have judged you so harshly and as for thinking I'm pretty? Even though I am a right mess right now...boy I could use a shower...I thank you for saying so just the same. You're a good friend."  
  
She hugs the young man tightly and Spike slowly hugs her back. Yes she's messing looking right now, but even that cannot dim her true beauty in Spike's eyes. To him, she's the most beautiful looking woman in the world, but he dare not confess his real feelings for her right now...especially not since she considers him only as a "friend". As he hugs her back just as tightly, he takes the moment for what it is and whispers back to her.  
  
"You're a good friend too."  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
"Come on Starscream, pick up those metal beams and load up already!!"  
  
Thundercracker points at the sulking former air commander as he stands there with his arms folded.  
  
"I refuse to take orders from the likes of you." Starscream whines in his usual irritating voice.  
  
Skywarp comes running over with a bunch of steel beams in his arms and looks at the two jet robots not helping.  
  
"What's the hold up you two? Megatron expects us to be back with this load before he returns from his mission."  
  
Thundercracker glares at Starscream, "Yeah, you heard Skywarp. Hurry up so we can all head back to the ship, I don't want to end up being on his bad side like you were."  
  
"The pains of being the new air commander my dear Thundercracker..." Starscream chuckles. "I've had to listen to Megatron moan on and on about how I screwed this and that up...that it was my fault that the Autobots got away or we failed to take over parts of Cybertron from them. Believe me my friend...you are going to be on his bad side from this point on. So deal with it...commander."  
  
Thundercracker scowls at Starscream's patronizing tone. Skywarp sighs as he watches the two Decepticons argue.  
  
"Oh boy, here we go..."  
  
"Listen Starscream..." Thundercracker says grabbing hold of the former commander. "I'm in charge and if I say we do what Megatron says...then we do it without question! Does that ring a bell, buddy? You said the exact same thing to all of us in the Cybertronian air squad when we tried to form our own faction. But like the sniveling coward you were and still are...you did what Megatron wanted like a good little soldier and almost had us all re-programmed or executed!!"  
  
Starscream turns his back on him, "But you weren't...thanks to me. I was the one that managed to talk our leader out of making you all into spare parts or mindless drones for his army. If I hadn't saved your lives by declaring loyalty to him then none of us would have been around to live to talk about it. Megatron was far too powerful back then to try and splinter off into our own group, he would have killed us all as traitors and melted us down into scrap."  
  
"But..." Skywarp adds. "You still ratted on us. Not such a hard thing to forget you know."  
  
Thundercracker nods, "Right. We did admire you Starscream...at the beginning of the war. You were a brilliant scientist and had quite the keen mind.... you could have been one of the best leaders of Cybertron."  
  
Starscream turns around angry at his comments, "Could? COULD?! I still CAN be one of the best leaders of Cybertron, perhaps even be the greatest of them all!"  
  
Both Skywarp and Thundercracker laugh.  
  
"Nope..." Skywarp says still giggling. "Megatron dashed all hope of you ever becoming that. When's the last time you worked in a lab or created something? You've changed over the years...you've become too obsessed with being crowned ruler of Cybertron and blowing up Autobots. Not that blowing up Autobots is a bad thing..."  
  
"I simply made a choice for the good of us all." Starscream says to them both. "I would have taken the opportunity to take him out on Cybertron when the time was right, I was just waiting for the right moment to make my move. I'm still a scientist at heart, with many fresh creative ideas...but what's wrong with wanting to have the power to aid with that endeavor as well? Megatron is weak right now...this is the time to help me in my cause to claim the Decepticon Empire."  
  
Skywarp shakes his head, "See what I mean? You're obsessed, all the other Decepticons that tried to overthrow him were soon dead or had their personality chips yanked out and placed into secure storage."  
  
"They were fools Skywarp. They lacked my superior intellect and ruthlessness to do whatever it took to see the job through."  
  
Thundercracker now bends over and picks up his collection of metal beams, "Famous last words of them all. Face it Starscream...you had your time. You missed it and now Megatron is the leader. We may have followed your orders as commander, but behind those orders was Megatron, the one that is still ruling us all to this day. So on that final note...lets get this stuff back to him before he ends up putting us all back on that scrap pile list of his."  
  
Skywarp transforms into his sleek black jet mode and the metal he holds quickly gets put into his cargo hold as he changes. Thundercracker also transforms and like wise has the metal instantly fold into his body as he becomes a blue jet. The two blast their after burners and fly into the sky, leaving Starscream standing there looking generally ticked off.  
  
"Ungrateful morons. I'll show them I'm not finished being leader yet...even if it takes me another millennia...one day I shall rule."  
  
In the distance, the humans can still be heard screaming and panicking as they run from the Decepticon attack the three jet transformers had done. Starscream was very annoyed and shot at the screaming hoards as he shouts out to them.  
  
"Oh shut up!! I hate this planet! And most of all I hate all of you!!!"  
  
Starscream quickly transforms and flies off into the sky after doing his wild shooting spree, now it will be his mission in life to dethrone Megatron and dispose of this planet of humans once and for all.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Grabbing the phone out of one of his officer's hands, the gruff old General takes the call in his makeshift tent at the bottom of the mountain with the Autobot ship visible in the background. As he closes the flap to the tent for a bit of privacy he hold the phone to his ear and speaks to whoever is on the other end.  
  
"This is General Pressman..."  
  
"Good day General...or should I say good evening." The voice says on the other end. "I realize that dusk is settling in right now so I imagine you and your men are looking forward to turning in early for a good nights rest."  
  
The General squints at the odd comment, "Who the hell is this? Stop wasting my time and get to the point. What's the priority?"  
  
"The priority is that you obey every command I give you. If I say return to base I mean return to base...yes?"  
  
The General's eyes dim and he suddenly realizes the voice on the other end.  
  
"So it is you...shall I call you Project N leader or simply Dr. Archeville?"  
  
"Well done, I am impressed by your research my boy. Don't bother to trace this call by the way...it would be a useless effort." The doctor says in a smug tone. "Imagine my surprise when I learned it was you trying to use the aid of Chip Chase to uncover my operations. I am somewhat relieved that I managed to find him before you could even finish your...uh...personal pet project about me."  
  
The graying General sits down in a chair near a small green table where the man rests his arm not occupied holding the small phone.  
  
"How did you find out? I told no one about that..."  
  
The Doctor giggles, "Well lets just say that Chip is very talkative under the right motivation. Not only him it seems...I've heard from one of your returning soldiers that you're in discussions with the Autobots to coordinate an all out offensive on the Decepticons."  
  
The General sighs a bit thinking Archeville is keen on the plan; he quickly smiles and cheerfully acknowledges the information.  
  
"Well...yes. I was just about to tell Optimus Prime about my plans for such an operation. If we combine our forces we may be able to take out the Decepticons before they can even launch."  
  
"I see..." The only words the doctor says in return.  
  
The General continues, "The combined fire power and use of more of those special weapons of yours will surely..."  
  
"That's enough General" Archeville interrupts. "Since you didn't mention that fact to Prime I feel I must order you not to even attempt to suggest it ever again. There will be no major offensive by you or your soldiers, is that understood?"  
  
Looking confused the General becomes flustered, "I beg your pardon, Sir? We need to act now while the Decepticons are still trying to construct the ship! If you don't have the balls to do it then I'll..."  
  
Once again the doctor interrupts, only more loudly, "If you do any such thing I will personally see to it that all of your loyal men and women soldiers are executed by any means necessary. That includes your lovely granddaughter..."  
  
"What?! You son of a bitch...who do you think you are? You can't threaten me!"  
  
"This is no threat General." The doctor says in a gruff tone. "Elise is a bright young woman with so much promise, don't you think? Even though you haven't spoken to her or your son in so many long years makes it that much more painful to mention. Heartbreaking isn't it, with one word from me I could wipe out your only means of joy in life. I understand the rift between you and your son would be so much more increased if he should find out that you were the cause of her death."  
  
The General slams his fist on the table and stands up shaking with anger.  
  
"Acheville if you so much as even look at my son or granddaughter..."  
  
"Easy now General. I merely mention it as one possible outcome from your disobedience, if you agree to do as your told, then nothing will happen to your family. Think of them and the lives of your troops carefully as you utter the next phrase to me. Think hard."  
  
Pursing his lips and giving the odd spasms with his left eye, the General clenches his teeth as he answers.  
  
"I...understand...Sir."  
  
Archeville relaxes his voice, "Well done General. Now tell me the details of what you and the Autobots discussed...lets see if we can give it a small tweak in our favor, hmmm?"  
  
The commander sits down in his chair again, obviously feeling defeated and terrified at the thought of what this crazed man could do to his family. Archeville patiently waited for General Hank Pressmen to spill everything he had heard about during the meeting with the Autobots, the plan to release Ravage and to lure the Decepticons into the holographic trap. Looking out of the small vent hole from the side of the tent, he could see the backend of the Ark sticking out of the mountain. A sad look creeps onto his face as he knows he's about to betray his new trusted friends, The Autobots.  
  
Just outside of the Ark entrance, Hound and Mirage casually come walking out towards Ravage's cage nearby. The makeshift prison the cat is in looks to be made of some sort of metal forged from pieces of the ship. A massive lock holds the cage door together, strong enough that even the likes of Ravage couldn't use his razor-sharp claws to slice through. The growling black cat transformer watches them pass by with glowing red eyes.  
  
"Hey Hound, did ya hear the news?"  
  
"No do tell Mirage."  
  
"Telatran One found a secret human energy facility a few miles out west of here, and it's got one of the largest energy signatures T-1 has ever seen on this planet."  
  
The black cat listens carefully as the two Autobots lively talk to one another in front of his cage.  
  
"You don't say..." Hound says with a smirk. "Must be really important if the General didn't tell us about it. You think Prime suspects they're holding out on us maybe?"  
  
Mirage nods, "I'll bet it's a large enough amount to take back to Cybertron...maybe the humans are afraid we'll try to steal it from them."  
  
Hound takes out a large key and swirls it around his finger as he thinks about it.  
  
"Hmm...yeah. It would be tempting. But hey...we're the good guys remember and these humans are our new friends. I'm just glad the Decepticons don't know about any of this, why I'm sure they'd love to get a hold of that energy for themselves."  
  
Mirage leans on Ravage's prison, "Wow, that would be devastating. Not even our guys back home would be able to withstand them if they got hold of it I'll bet. Oh wait, should we be talking about this around the prisoner? Prowl would be mad at us for this security leak..."  
  
Hound stops spinning the key on his finger and leans down looking into Ravage's cage.  
  
"Daaah, it's ok. It's not like Ravage is going anywhere. Are ya boy?"  
  
Hound taunts the black cat with the key; putting it close to the spaces were Ravage could almost reach it and then taking it away fast from him. The angry cat growls at the green transformer and violently slashes away at the metal bars in front of him. The whole cage rattles from his actions, something that makes Mirage get up and stand behind Hound.  
  
"I hope that cell keeps him in. Stop teasing him with that key...Prime wouldn't like you goofing off around like that."  
  
Hound snickers, "I won't tell if you don't. Besides, Prime is too busy trying to keep up with where the Decepticons will strike next. I can't believe he wouldn't attack a human facility Megatron and his goons where raiding."  
  
"You know Prime..." Mirage says turning to walk back inside the Ark. "Ever since Sherman dam he won't risk harming the humans again. That energy facility is probably full of humans maintaining it, so let's just hope the Decepticons never find out about that place. Come on, let's stop chatting about this...I want to go back inside for the night."  
  
Hound twirls the key around his finger again and watches his friend go inside.  
  
"I hear ya buddy. Time to power down for the night and conserve my energy levels."  
  
Looking down at Ravage again, Hound spins the key and places it down near his side.  
  
"Nighty, night Ravage. Have fun being a prisoner for a long time...hahah!"  
  
As he leaves, the key drops off of his side hook where he was trying to place it. The shining object drops to the ground a few meters away from the shabby looking cage. As Ravage watches Hound disappear into the Autobot ship, he desperately tries to reach out with his paw to grab the key. It's too far to grab it from where he was and the frustration of not being close enough made the black cat frantically think. Suddenly he stuck his black paw out again and a small panel opened on the top of it. A thin, small wire-like arm extended out of it and managed to hook onto the key. Reeling it back in, Ravage took hold of it with its other paw and held it in-between it's razor sharp claws. Raising it up to the lock, the cat managed to wedge it in and unlock it like human hand would. The heavy metal lock dropped to the ground with a loud thud and the cage door swung open. In the darkness of the prison, the cat's red eyes glowed as it looked around. Neither a human, nor an Autobot could be seen around, and the mini-disk Decepticon stepped out as free transformer. It was time to run, he had to get the information back to his leader, and before the Autobots became aware of his escape.  
  
As Ravage begins to run down the bottom of the mountain's path, a human soldier appears out of the brush just as he pulls his pants up. Long days of monitoring the Ark tends to leave no room for bathroom breaks, so the soldier had thought since no one was around...might as well get the chance while he can. Unfortunately he didn't count on running into a Decepticon robotic panther just as he was finishing up. The man's eyes grew wide as he looked up, Ravage's eyes gazed at him somewhat curiously as he wondered what the human was doing to that bush.  
  
"SOUND THE ALARM!!" the man screamed in a shrilling panicked voice.  
  
Ravage whipped his head around to see the darkening sky become full of spotlights trying to focus on his position. Now a loud horn wailed on and off as it alerted everyone below and within the Ark of his escape. The soldier tried to reach for his gun and pull his pants up at the same time, but the black cat would waste no time on this bumbling fool. Ravage scurried behind the mountainside and tried to go in a different direction from where the lights where. Bumblebee and Wheeljack where startled by the Decepticon running past them as they appeared out of the Ark. Both drew out their weapons and began chasing after him.  
  
"Ravage! HALT!!" Wheeljack commanded at him.  
  
"He's getting away!" Bumblebee cries out.  
  
Soon all the Autobots and humans soldiers come running out in every direction and follow the sprinting robotic panther as it tries to hide in the mountain's shadows. Optimus Prime followed behind Gears and Windcharger as they searched the dark side of the rocks to locate him.  
  
"Gears...activate your infrareds" The leader commanded.  
  
Gears quickly transformed into his red and blue Roadster Coupe mode and switched his large headlights into two red beams that seemed to move without having to pivot himself. The lights exposed everything the darkness was keeping from them from seeing, and soon enough he found Ravage trying to hide nearby.  
  
"There he is Prime!" Gears says.  
  
"Autobots! Open Fire!!" Prime shouts to them all.  
  
From every angle, the Autobot's weapons all blast away at the cornered enemy. Prowl uses his targeting eyepiece on his weapon to get a deadlock on the cat trying to avoid being hit. Just as he is about the shoot the weapon, Optimus Prime knocks his weapon up with his arm and looks at the surprised black and white robot.  
  
"No.", Optimus says quietly. "We just want it to look good...not actually hit him."  
  
Prowl nods and whispers back, "Sorry Prime...I nearly forgot."  
  
Ravage leaps out of the way again and now makes bolder jumps down the mountain, this time he finds a way beyond all the shooting and soldiers looking for him. As Ravage comes around the bend of the lower mountain, General Pressman suddenly appears and holds his hand out for the cat to stop. Ravage growls at the human and his eyes glow red.  
  
"Easy now..." Pressman says to the Decepticon. "I...I've been told to give you a message...to your leader."  
  
Ravage quiets down and gives a confused look on his face again. The General face is nervous and at the same time very grim. His eyes give away his reluctance as he begins to talk.  
  
Optimus Prime leads the Autobots around and continues to look for the escaped prisoner, everyone moving their heads from side to side as they search.  
  
"Keep a sharp eye..." he says to them.  
  
Suddenly a silhouette of the Decepticon is seen jumping out ahead of them and now runs fast down through the valley. Optimus Prime and the others all point their guns at him and randomly fire away at the fleeing cat. The shots begin to die down as soon as they see he's no longer in reach of their blasts. Optimus squints to see and then turns to his robotic soldiers and gives a thumb up.  
  
"Excellent job everyone! He's taken the bait!"  
  
The Autobots all cheer and Hound walks up to the leader with a big smile.  
  
"Hope I didn't over do my performance Optimus?"  
  
The leader laughs, "Not at all Hound. I think any Decepticon would have believed you. Now then...I think we've got a job to do."  
  
Hound nods and watches Optimus Prime transform into his large rig and trailer.  
  
"Autobots! Transform and Roll Out!"  
  
The leader's command makes them all quickly convert into their various vehicle modes, Carly and Spike run up to the transformed leader and stand in front of him.  
  
"Hey! You're not leaving without us!" Carly cheerfully says to him.  
  
"We're coming too Optimus..." Spike says as well.  
  
The leader turns on his rig lights and revs his engine.  
  
"Sorry, but this is not your fight guys. I can't risk anymore human casualties and I don't want you two there if Megatron looks for some sort of bargaining chip. No...this is our fight now."  
  
Sparkplug walks up to the leader as well and folds his arms.  
  
"I agree. Spike and Carly shouldn't go.... but I should."  
  
Optimus sighs, "Sorry Sparkplug, but that goes for you as well."  
  
"You need me Optimus...I understand how energy plants work, I used to work at one before I worked in construction. Hound will need my knowledge on how to create holographic human workers that look convincing, not to mention how the plant looks and runs."  
  
Hound, sitting beside the transformed leader in his Hummer mode, reluctantly agrees with Sparkplug.  
  
"He's got a point Prime. I'll need someone to give me details on how to make it accurate."  
  
The rig continued to rev its engine and smoke spewed from the dual stacks attached to it.  
  
"Alright...just you though. For Primus's sake...I can't have every human in harms way. Personally I think your just looking to tag along."  
  
Sparkplug smiles, "You could be right. But this is my world Prime...and my rules."  
  
The leader opens his driver's side door, "Ok...hop in and try not to get in our way."  
  
Sparkplug pats his son's back and rests his other hand on Carly's shoulder. Both look at him with great concern and he just smirks at them.  
  
"You kids stay here and be ready for anything."  
  
"But Dad...I should go with you..."  
  
"Spike...listen to me. I don't want you in harms way either...you've got your life ahead of you and should be given the chance to see it through. Don't worry about me, I don't really want to die before my time anyway...but I've got to go and help them to this. OK? So just trust me son, I know what I'm doing."  
  
Carly watches the two men hug each other; she can clearly see that Spike and Sparkplug share a bond that only a father and son would have. It touches her to see them so close; if only she knew of the rift that use to be there between them before this all began. Spike lets go of his father and allows him to climb into Prime's cab. Carly and Spike move out of the way and watch the entire convoy of the Autobots drive past and down the dirt road. As Spike continues to watch them all leave, he sees his father waving at him out of the window.  
  
"Be safe...and come back." He says softly to himself.  
  
Carly could hear his low words and gave him a shoulder hug for comfort.  
  
"He'll be ok Spike. Lets go into the Ark and monitor Telatran One, at least we can keep an eye on them all from there."  
  
Spike nods gently and breathes.  
  
"Yeah...I hope this plan works." 


	15. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 15 – When A Good Plan Goes Wrong  
  
Megatron returns to the canyon where the Decepticon ship is still being built by the Constructicons, as he lands with Soundwave and the tri-group Reflector, he sees that progress on it's design has increased. Thundercracker greets him by straightening up and placing his arm over his chest.  
  
"Hail Megatron!"  
  
Megatron nods at the gesture, "Well done Thundercracker. It appears you have collected the resources we need to finish the ship. Very impressive."  
  
"Thank you Megatron...", the newly appointed air commander says joyfully. "I trust you managed to get the remaining energon we needed to replace."  
  
Megatron scowls, "Bah! Only a fraction of what we need...these humans can't create energy if their lives depended on it. Nuclear power here is a disgrace! It took us forever to filter out the contaminants their puny reactors managed to spew out."  
  
Starscream chuckles from behind him, "Sounds like you failed in your mission Megatron. I take it that means we can't leave this planet yet. Hmm?"  
  
The silvery leader turns around and gazes at him, "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you right now Starscream, remember you are on thin ground with me so keep your opinions to yourself."  
  
The leader then turns his head to Soundwave standing beside him, "We need better sources of energy and we need them now. Tell me...are there any other places on this rock that can be of use to us?"  
  
Soundwave scans through the data in his mind, images on his chest plate scroll as he searches for energy possibilities.  
  
"There are many places to tap into...but none of them seem to have the requirements we would need to restock our supply.", the monotone voice robot says.  
  
Suddenly they all hear the growling and snarling of Ravage as he runs thought the group and stops at Soundwave's feet.  
  
Rumble and Frenzy, both looking like twins to one another, shout out with joy as they see the returning feline friend.  
  
"Ravage is Back!", Rumble says.  
  
"Nothing keeps him away from us! Way to escape buddy!", Frenzy also shouts.  
  
"Raaavage!", the cycloptic red-eyed Decepticon says to him as he looks down.  
  
Megatron looks down at the black cat as well and smiles, "Welcome back Ravage. I trust you have gathered some interesting information for us, eh?"  
  
The mini-disk Decepticon growls and nods at the leader. Quickly he transforms into his mini-disk form and slides into Soundwave's awaiting open chest. The chest plate closes back up and soon data begins to download into the blue transformer.  
  
"He has tapped into various files of Telatran One. There is more data on the region and of other energy resources."  
  
Megatron cheerfully laughs, "Excellent...your spy has performed most perfectly."  
  
Soundwave shows images of various mines and human built facilities, each one looks as tempting as the next in Megatron's eyes as he rubs his hand greedily.  
  
"There are several locations across the globe that yield a possible high energy output.", Soundwave says.  
  
Megatron smiles, "Anything worth looking into?"  
  
"There two places, one is in Burma in Southeast Asia.... there is a ruby mine that is generating a high energy matrix."  
  
As Megatron studies the images he notices the ruby descriptions and of the detailed scans Telatran One made of them.  
  
"Those aren't ordinary rubies, if I didn't know better...I'd swear they were Energon Crystals."  
  
Rumble scratches his head as he looks up at the leader, "Energon Crystals? What the heck are those?"  
  
"You're lack of Cybertronian history is baffling Rumble." The leader frowns at him. "Energon Crystals were once sources of pure energy that we once use to mine long before the Great Wars of Cybertron. It was said that they could power one robotic life form for billions of years."  
  
Starscream perks up at the discussion and also adds in his knowledge of the crystals.  
  
"Unfortunately our ancestors over mined the galaxy and ended up having to return home to conserve our fuel reserves. Perhaps that is how the Great Wars began. Fascinating...I wonder how this world managed to get such crystals?"  
  
Megatron stood there with his hands on his hips, "Who cares. The point is that we've found a new undiscovered source! It was fate that I, Megatron, should discover this historic discovery for our people. Now Optimus Prime and the Autobots truly are doomed! We'll have to collect enough so that we can process them back home and..."  
  
Soundwave interrupts, "Ravage also reports that the other place mentioned is a secret energy plant just outside of this area. The humans have created a power source large enough to power nearly all of Cybertron!"  
  
Megatron's eyes grow wide, "Impossible! These humans cannot create such power! They could barely even create a half decent Nuclear power plant!"  
  
"You're wrong as usual Megatron...", Starscream speaks out. "Remember they did manage to build a weapon that could harm us all."  
  
The leader rubs his chin as he thinks of the situation. Starscream was correct about that, somehow the creatures that didn't seem like such a threat to him did in fact attack his men with such a weapon.  
  
"Yes...that was rather interesting wasn't it? Very odd...for primitive beings such as this. I wonder..."  
  
"There is more data concerning this matter, mighty Megatron!", Soundwave says again.  
  
"Do tell" The leader says snapping out of thought.  
  
Soundwave continues to upload data that he's translating from the mini-disk spy.  
  
"Ravage encountered a human military officer and was given a message for you personally."  
  
Starscream stood up with interest and stood next to the Decepticon leader, as he too was surprised at the new information. The leader's eyes soon peered into slits as he wondered at what a human could possibly dare say to him.  
  
"Indeed...and what exactly did this flesh creature have to say?"  
  
Starscream looked at the leader, "It could be a trap...don't listen to it Megatron. These humans are tricky...they might yet try to use another one of those weapons on us."  
  
Megatron shoved Starscream's face out of the way as he continued to be interested in the message.  
  
"Be silent Starscream. I fear no human...they have no idea of who they are toying with. These creatures curiosity is a weakness we may yet be able to use against the Autobots, now shut up and get out of my way. Continue Soundwave...what did the human say to Ravage?"  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Out in the darkened rocky valley, miles away from both the Ark and the Decepticon ship still being constructed, the Autobots toil away on Hound's massive holographic imager. The night has soon passed and is on the cusp of the breaking dawn, setting up the reflective screens around the area has taken countless hours to get right. In the center of this vast open area is the main holographic generator that Hound and Sparkplug have set up. Though he is unsure about his knowledge of their technology, Sparkplug has done everything the green Autobot has instructed him on. Optimus Prime had done his job coordinating his men and having them set up the equipment, now he stands with his arms folded behind him and looking up at the cliff side in front of them. It's the only one that leads to this particular valley and the only way anyone could approach them from the two points, The Ark and the Decepticon ship. As the stars begin to fade and the sky begins to change its tint, the leader soon realizes that Megatron will be arriving shortly, if in fact Ravage has successfully planted the information back to the Decepticons that is. Time will only tell. Optimus Prime isn't worried though, he knows Megatron too well, and greed is something the Decepticon leader is notorious for. In fact all the Decepticons are overly greedy when it comes to finding a big source of energon, but Megatron for some reason or another is always much more greed-driven then the whole lot of them put together. But now the trap is set, the imager is up and Optimus Prime gives the orders to begin.  
  
"Hound, are we finished yet?"  
  
The military colored robot nods at him, "You bet Prime. Sparkplug and I just finished activating the imager now."  
  
"Alright then..." the massive leader says facing them all. "I want all of you to remember one thing...the Decepticons, though very tempted to be here, will be very suspicious about this place when they arrive. So I don't want to see anyone in their robot forms until I give the word...is that understood?"  
  
"Yes, Sir!" They all respond.  
  
Windcharger looks over at Bumblebee and whispers, "Why can't we just stay in our forms? I'd rather be transformed and ready to fight then be stuck in my alternate mode."  
  
Bumblebee smirks, "What would ya have us do Windcharger? Dress up in lab coats and pretend that we're nothing but a bunch of human scientists and workers? Yeah I'm sure the Decepticons wouldn't notice..."  
  
Optimus Prime continues his speech, "The element of surprise is with us now, the humans...with the exception of Sparkplug over there...are now out of harm's way and well beyond Megatron's reach. So he won't be able to use them as shields anymore. Now we can have a fair fight and give it all we've got, this is where we make our stand Autobots.... this is where we end the war at long last. Disable as many Decepticons as you can...but leave me Megatron...he's mine."  
  
Cliffjumper didn't like the sound of that, he kicked the dirt in an "aw shucks" kind of manner, he's always been the one thinking of taking out Megatron personally, in fact he was almost close to doing it on Cybertron before they left. If his aim were only a little better perhaps this whole Earth battle would have never happened. Optimus Prime lifted his large black cannon-like gun into the air and gave the final order to begin.  
  
"Autobots, Transform! Take your positions!"  
  
All of them converted into their alternate modes, each one reverting into the various forms given to them by Telatran One. Each one transformed after the other, Wheeljack, Ironhide, Brawn, Cliffjumper, Prowl, Jazz, Windcharger, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Blue Streak, Smokescreen, Gears and Huffer. Transforming beside Optimus Prime were the others, Hound, Mirage, Trailbreaker and Ratchet. Sparkplug quickly climbed into Bumblebee and buckled himself in, and then stood there in amazement as he watched Optimus Prime finally transform into his rig mode. He never tired of seeing the Autobot leader transform, it was just incredible to him to see a robot his size shift down into a truck cab so quickly. Prime revved his motor and drove out along side Hound.  
  
"Activate the holographic generator!"  
  
Hound riding beside him at the same speed shouted back, "Activating...NOW!"  
  
The entire area soon took on a green grid like shape, sections began to form into larger grids that stood up from the ground and built a framework of where the buildings, pipelines and various other objects would go. Soon it began to fill in and became the very illusion Hound had hoped it would look like. There were details upon details, cracks in the brickwork, rust on some of the piping and even patchworks done on the asphalt road. Even the electrified fence looked convincing, complete with a front gate and a security guard outpost in front of it. More images soon popped up, this time it was the humans, each one looked as they were supposed to and even looking as convincing as the rest of the place. Hound had to hand it to Sparkplug, telling him about the different types of people and jobs came in handy. The holographic people all walked around as if they were really working in this make believe energy facility. It was as perfect as perfect could be.  
  
"Fantastic!" Sparkplug remarked.  
  
Bumblebee giggled, "Maybe next time we can create a nice vacation spot for you and Spike later."  
  
All the Autobots took their spots around buildings and other hiding places within the hologram, each car was given a place to park in and even had some camouflage to hid them. Hound stood out from the others, he was in the guise of a military Hummer, which wasn't too much of a surprise to find at a government run facility. After all, it was a military secret, as far as Megatron and the other Decepticons would know. Hound used his mounted radar attached to his missile gun combo sticking out from the top of his backside. It swerved all over as he listened for any sign of visitors.  
  
"Anything yet Hound?" Prime whispered to him by radio.  
  
Hound signaled back to him, "Nothing yet...strange. I'm not getting a signal at all. I thought for sure ol' Meg's would be charging down that cliff by now."  
  
Prime sat there in his truck cab form and mulled it over, "Hmm, give it more time. He may not come right away...I'm not even sure if he'll come at all. But I've never known him to give up an opportunity when it comes directly to his attention."  
  
Hound sighs, "Yeah...your right. Maybe we should have built it up a bit more or shot Ravage to make it more convincing."  
  
Suddenly his radar stops, "Wait a sec! I'm getting something.... it.... it looks like..."  
  
Then as the sun finally shone over the cliff top, a shadowy figure stands in front of the glaring sun and raises its arm. Prime and the others new that shape, it was clearly the form of Megatron, raising his arm up with his mounted cannon on it.  
  
"Decepticons! ATTACK!!" he shouts out.  
  
Soon other darkened forms run up behind him and make their way down the cliff side to the hologram energy site below. The artificial humans all did what they were programmed to do, run, panic and the military humans scrambling to arm themselves. The forms now looked very familiar, the Decepticons all rushed in like a stampede of bulls and were now inside the holographic image itself. The Autobots all waited for the command from Optimus, but Ironhide had to ask.  
  
"Now Prime?"  
  
The leader began to drive out, "NOW!"  
  
The Autobots all furiously drive out of their spots and begin to rush into their robotic forms, each one takes out a weapon and fires at the various Decepticons who continue to run straight in with no fear. Brawn quickly transforms in front of Skywarp and gives him a massive uppercut to his head.  
  
"One Brawn special coming up!"  
  
As he strikes Skywarp's head, it snaps off of his torso and shoots up into the air from the sheer thrust of his hit. The Decepticon falls to the ground and nearly shatters on impact. Brawn looks overly surprised at how damaging a blow he did and looks at his fist with pride.  
  
"Hot damn! Guess I've been holding it in so long I didn't know my own strength!"  
  
As other Autobot members shoot or hit the attacking enemies, they all notice how quickly the Decepticons fall to pieces. Trailbreaker managed to run right through Thundercracker, Jazz screamed in horror as he flawlessly ripped off Soundwave's arm with little force and even Bumblebee managed to take out the tri-group of Reflector with only one kick to the head. Optimus Prime transformed and watched the battle as all the Decepticons crumbled around him.  
  
"Wait a second..." The leader said in an uneasy tone. "This doesn't feel right."  
  
Wheeljack transformed and inspected the wreckage in front of Brawn.  
  
"This is too easy...no Decepticon falls to pieces this fast."  
  
Brawn chuckles, "What do ya mean? Look at them...there all scrapped! We just needed the space to do our thing and look what we accomplished.... we defeated them flawlessly."  
  
Wheeljack rises to his feet with the dismembered head of Skywarp.  
  
"That's what I'm talking about. These aren't the real deal...why they're all nothing but a pile of Junk...."  
  
Sideswipe lifts up his corpse of Rumble as it falls apart in his hands, "You mean decoys!"  
  
Prime looks up at the cliff and stares at Megatron, "Mindless drones...we've been had."  
  
Megatron looks down at the surprised Autobots and laughs with sheer joy. This alone was worth viewing from his position as the Autobots discovered they took out nothing but useless clones of the Decepticon army. His voice soon carried down to Optimus Prime as he finished laughing and stared straight at the Autobot leader.  
  
"That's right Prime! Good to see that fatal blow to the head I gave you back at Sherman Dam scrambled your higher brain functions. You've managed to take out nothing more then a non-threatening group of harmless drones! It was foolish of you to even try to tempt me with this illusion. Really now...A hologram energy facility? Such a futile effort."  
  
Prime shouts back at him holding his weapon up trying to take aim, "I can still do the job Megatron..."  
  
"Just try it Optimus...if you think I hurt these puny humans before...just wait and see what my Decepticons will do if you even shoot at me."  
  
That was the threat the Autobot leader didn't want to hear, Megatron likes to bluff about many things, but carrying out those threats usually happens when he boldly admits it out loud. Prime lowers his gun and sighs in defeat.  
  
"Tell me one thing Megatron...what gave us away?"  
  
Megaton smirks with a most evil grin; "I must say Optimus...I was very impressed with your little ruse at first. But it was almost too good to be true and quite the bit of luck that Ravage managed to escape unharmed and tacking on a bit of big information at the end of his report. Telatran One already revealed our next target...but that last bit..."  
  
Megatron lifts up his hand and shakes his finger at him, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. That was very naughty of you."  
  
Prime's fist began to clench in anger, "TELL ME HOW?!"  
  
Megatron laughed at the Autobot leader, this strong proud robot now resorting to begging him for answers was a delight.  
  
"As I said Prime, I was almost ready to believe.... that is...until we received a personal message from one of your new found friends. It seems that even these humans know which way the power swings too."  
  
Bumblebee and Sparkplug stand side by side and look at one another in confusion.  
  
"What is he talking about?" The little yellow robot asks Sparkplug.  
  
With a quick think and a sudden realization his eyes, he gives a rather glib answer.  
  
"Only a handful of us knew what was going on, the other soldiers wouldn't know what the extra energy was being used for.... there was Spike, Carly, Me and.... oh my god, no...no it can't be him...he couldn't have..."  
  
Megatron continued to gloat over them all, "A sad choice in friends Optimus as usual...I grow very weary of defeating you constantly, especially now since we're so close to the end."  
  
Cliffjumper pointed his weapon at the Decepticon leader's head and called him out.  
  
"MEGATRON!!! You can't get away with this! You don't have enough power to return home...so don't think that this is over just yet!!"  
  
Optimus screams at the small red robot with the itchy trigger finger, "Cliffjumper! Lower your weapon...that's an order!!"  
  
Megatron squints down at the insignificant robot and aims his fusion cannon at him as well.  
  
"Not so little one. It just so happens we've managed to locate a rather large sum of energon that will power the Decepticon Empire forever. My loyal soldiers are at the site as we speak and collecting the remaining source of energy we need to finish your friends back home and return to this planet later to suck it completely dry!"  
  
Cliffjumper almost squeezes the trigger at him, but Prime dives on him just as he's about to make the shot. Megatron continues to chuckle at Prime's actions and shakes his head.  
  
"Oh Optimus! I truly will miss you in the end...but I think that it is only fitting that we leave you here on this miserable planet in exile. One day I'll return and grant you a mercy killing if only to release you of the shame of being the greatest failure of the Autobot faction. Don't bother trying to attack our spacecraft site; it would be a useless effort against the likes of the combined force of the Constructicons. I'm sure you know just how lethal Devastator can be once he is unleashed. Farewell Prime...I pity you and those that followed you to this dead end world."  
  
The Decepticon leader flies off the cliff and into the air, the echo of his booming evil laugh made each Autobot's heart sink with fear as he got away unscathed. Wheeljack, ever resourceful as he was, took out a small round metal chip and attached it to his shoulder missile sticking out. A small explosion from the tip of it launched the little metal device and shot straight up at Megatron as he flew upward with his back to them all below. It quickly magnetized to the Decepticon's lower back leg and began to take the color of his black painted part. Optimus Prime noticed the shot and gave the Autobot scientist/engineer a thumb up after getting off of Cliffjumper. Megatron began to blur in the sky and like the Autobots, transwarped towards the location of his awaiting Decepticons.  
  
Wheeljack sighed and looked at his arm flashing, "At least one good thing came out of this."  
  
As Optimus Prime mulled over the encrypted speech Megatron spewed at him, Cliffjumper rose up and yelled at the massive leader.  
  
"What the heck did you do that for? I had him dead to right!"  
  
"Cliffjumper, you are not in command here, I am! Is that understood? Don't look away at me when I'm speaking to you.... I said is that understood soldier?!" Prime barked back at him.  
  
The tiny red robot folded his arms and kept his back facing the leader, "Leader? HAH! Some leader you are...we've got Megatron right where we want him and you let him get away! If you don't have the titanium ball bearings to do the job, then I suggest you make room for those of us who can!"  
  
"Cliffjumper..." Prime begins to grumble under his breath in anger.  
  
Suddenly Wheeljack interrupts hoping to break the tension with his information.  
  
"Prime! Uh...look here...I've planted the tracker on Megatron, so that means we can go locate him and maybe pick up where we left off before. It's on the Autobot band frequency in the higher range..."  
  
Cliffjumper quickly transforms and begins to drive away at full speed.  
  
"Thanks for the tip Wheeljack.... I'm glad one of us is trying to win the war! Time to finish them all for good!!"  
  
The little red car transwarps into a bright flash leaving a large dust trail in his wake. Optimus reaches out with his hand and screams at the hot headed robot.  
  
"Cliffjumper!! Get back here right now!!"  
  
Bumblebee sighs and looks over at the leader, "Forget it Optimus...he's gone."  
  
Optimus Prime lowers his arm and tries to calm down, with nothing else to look at in the distance but the robot's dusty trail, he looks back at the rest of the Autobots giving him a rather blank look. It was a look that made Optimus wonder if the rest of them felt the same way, that he was losing his ability to lead and that he was, as Megatron put it, "the greatest failure of the Autobot faction".  
  
Having watched Cliffjumper take off in anger, the others begin to stare at one another as to what to do next. Ironhide drops his gun to the ground angrily, he walks over to the Autobot leader and vents out his frustration just as Cliffjumper did moments ago.  
  
"I'm with Cliffjumper, Optimus! What good is all of this if we can't even make a move? You had him in your sight again and you still hesitated to fire!"  
  
Optimus Prime tried to justify his motive, "He would have carried out his threat Ironhide, I know Megatron...his men would have carried out his orders to harm the humans. I can't let these beings be the fodder between us everytime we clash. We can be repaired a lot more then they can..."  
  
Ironhide grows even more furious, "I'm sick to death of hearing you use that excuse Prime! These humans seem pretty tough to me...hell they even managed to betray us in the process! We wasted all our efforts into this project and now Megatron has gotten the upper hand again! You're gonna have to face facts ol' buddy; the humans are going to get hurt no matter what we do. This is war Optimus, not dance around the Decepticons until they leave the smaller beings alone..."  
  
The Autobot leader grabs the hysterical robot and pulls him in close to his face, "I expected that kind of behavior from Cliffjumper, but not from you as well. War has casualties I know...but are you one to say that these people have to give their lives for a battle they never started?! Wake up Ironhide! This is not...repeat.... NOT Cybertron!! I will not have another world turned into a burned out lump of space debris hanging in the cosmos!"  
  
The southern speaking robot squints at the leader's angry eyes and gives the same dirty look back at him.  
  
"And who do we have to thank for that lump hanging in space? You've got two choices Prime.... you can let Megatron win and take over the universe, sucking it completely dry for his own needs.... or you can buck up and finish this maniac once and for all. Face it Prime...lives will be lost if he continues like this...you know that don't ya?"  
  
The leader lets go of him slowly and sighs, "Yes.... I know. The more I allow him to win, the more he will likely destroy everything in his path. But at what cost do we sacrifice our honor, our morality...the very good within us all. Must there always be innocent lives lost in order to win? It's too high a price Ironhide. You don't know what it's like for me....on the one hand, I have to think of our home, all of us and the future at large. Then I have to think of this world, how we must not allow it to be destroyed by our presence and put all these people into anymore danger then what they are in now. The burden is heavy on my shoulders...in such a short time, I've become the only hope for both planets."  
  
Ratchet walks over to him and holds on to his arm, "We know Optimus...some of us just don't realize just how big of a stake this is, but for those of us that do...we applaud everything you've done."  
  
Ironhide shakes his head, "You can applaud all you want Ratchet. I've managed to stick with Prime on many issues; hell I even forgave him for leaving the others back home to die. But this time I can't seem to agree with his motives, Megatron has to be stopped even if it means spilling blood other then our own...I'm joining Cliffjumper and ending this matter once and for all."  
  
Ironhide quickly transforms into his red minivan mode and rides off into the direction Cliffjumper sped off into. Bumblebee looks down at Sparkplug as he whispers to the little yellow robot.  
  
"This is bad."  
  
"I know." Bumblebee nods. "But what can we do?"  
  
"I've got an idea...lets go find both of them and help them finish off the Decepticons."  
  
Bumblebee's eyes widen, "Are you nuts? We can just abandon Prime like they did...I'd feel awful betraying him."  
  
Sparkplug smiles, "Who says we're betraying him? You heard the man...he's got a lot on his plate right now and he needs help. Why not humans and Autobots together destroying the enemy that both worlds share?"  
  
"I dunno bout this Sparkplug, you're son won't like you doing this sort of thing either."  
  
Sparkplug rolls his eyes at the thought, "Yeah I know....kinda made a promise didn't I? But I told him that I had to help anyway I could...this is important and we all know it. Spike will just have to deal with it cause I'm not letting some alien dictator come on my world and kick my people around like they don't mean nothin'."  
  
Bumblebee transforms and swings open his driver side door.  
  
"Alright then...I'm with ya. I'll do it to help Prime, Earth, Spike and Carly. Nobody messes with my friends."  
  
Sparkplug jumps in and buckles up. Closing the door and driving off fast, the little yellow Volkswagen beetle car soon shows a dusty trail behind it just as the others had done. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker jump out of the way as Bumblebee races between them.  
  
"Woah! HEY!", Sunstreaker shouts. "Watch it will ya? I just buffed this chrome work!"  
  
Sideswipe regains his balance, "Where the heck is he going?"  
  
Making sure his chrome is fine; Sunstreaker stops looking at it and looks out at the vanishing car.  
  
"Uh oh...I think we just lost another one. Optimus is going to blow a fuse for sure."  
  
Sideswipe moans, "Great...this whole team is falling apart. Sometimes I wish we'd never been reassembled again..."  
  
Sunsteaker passes by him and heads for Optimus Prime, "Speak for yourself bro, I've never looked better then the mode I've got now. These humans really know style when they see it."  
  
Sideswipe holds his hand to his face in embarrassment, "Oh Primus save me...I'm stuck with Mr. Vanity." 


	16. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 16 – The Road To Ruin  
  
Having watched the entire battle safely in the Ark, Carly and Spike are in shock of how quickly Megatron learned of the plan. Communicating with Prowl, they discover how it all went wrong.  
  
"He said what Prowl?", Spike questions him.  
  
In the crackling noise of the returning signal, Prowl repeats his words.  
  
"Megatron claims that a human warned him of our plans. I need you to talk to the General and see if he can begin an inquiry to all of his soldiers that had knowledge of this."  
  
Carly taps her chin in thought, "How could any of them know about it? There wasn't time to explain to any of them of what was going on. Only those of us circled around in the Ark new of the plans."  
  
Prowl hears her and agrees, "Hmm...good point. Well I know for a fact that you two couldn't have done it...right?"  
  
Spike nods in thought, "Right. And Dad would never betray you guys either....that only leaves...."  
  
Carly slaps her head, "The General...oh how could we be so stupid?"  
  
Spike scowls, "Not us Carly.... him. The man betrayed us all...."  
  
Prowl suddenly gets cut off as a button is pushed on the console beside them. As they turn to look, they see the General standing there in his full dress uniform.  
  
"Not by choice Spike. My hand was forced."  
  
Spike clenches his fist and shows his anger at him.  
  
"Why?! Why did you do it Pressman? My dad could have been killed because of your stupidity!"  
  
The General bows his head in shame, "It was a personal matter...please believe me...I never wanted to do it."  
  
Carly frowned at the military man trying to look somber, "We trusted you...the Autobots trusted you...do you realize what you've done?"  
  
General Pressman sighs, "Yes I know what I did...I was a fool, I should have never let that man get the best of me."  
  
"Who?" Carly asks.  
  
The man looked up at her and stared straight into her eyes.  
  
"Doctor Archeville"  
  
Carly knew that name, she remembered the internet postings left on the conspiracy websites a man called Phoenix used to put up. She always read those reports on the secret locations and men behind the cover-ups as the anonymous writer discovered them. Archeville was a frequent name that was always linked to every project mentioned. Now it all began to make sense to her, the one man who was the center of it all headed Project N, the biggest government secret nobody in the world was able to crack.  
  
"Archeville...what are you talking about?" Spike says trying to understand.  
  
"Doctor Emmett Archeville, Spike." She explains to him. "Anything and everything that has a secret is somehow linked to that one man. I guess it all revolves around a certain project of his.... I'm guessing Project N, am I right General?"  
  
The military man nods, Carly looks back at Spike and continues, "Remember when I mentioned to the Autobots about a guy named Phoenix, how he managed to uncover a lot of government secrets and what have you? Well Archeville was the name he kept mentioning in his reports and apparently that's the man he was going to go search for."  
  
Spike listened to her every word, as he listened he kept thinking how beautiful and intelligent this woman was. It was strange to him that he would ever find such a girl out in the middle of nowhere and one willing to fight so bravely. He pondered everything she told him and he finally caught wind of where this was going.  
  
"I think they must have found him first. Seems to me if anyone was trying to destroy or uncover their work...they'd make them disappear."  
  
Looking at the General again, it donned on Spike that the General probably didn't have a choice at all.  
  
"So what did they get you with? Kill you when you least expect it? A...threat of some sort?"  
  
The General sighs and leans against Telatran One, "My son and granddaughter. These people are not to be messed with Spike, trust me; I've learned this painful lesson a few times already. I'm deep in it enough as it is without having to put the two people I care about in any danger. Archeville is crazy enough to follow through in his threats...so that's why I had to do it."  
  
Spike shakes his head in disbelief, "God...and I thought the Decepticons were the monsters. What does that say about our own kind? I always believed we were better then this...that there was hope for our kind yet. It looks like I was wrong all along..."  
  
Carly holds Spike by the shoulders and looks at him, "There's always hope Spike. We can't just let go because there are those still trying to undermine it all, we've got to fight back and never let them get the chance to send us all down that dark road. There are good people out there in the world Spike. ...People like you. You're the best example of humanity the Autobots could ever have found. I'm glad they found you.... and so am I."  
  
Spike gazed into her eyes and saw that she was confessing from the heart. She lifted his spirits like no one else could and stirred his heart with her lovely smile. The General sat there ashamed of himself, that he could be so foolish to let Archeville threaten him. After hearing Carly's little speech, he too found a renewed hope within himself and wanted to make up for the damage he had done. Before he could comment, a new message came in over Telatran One.  
  
"Sparkplug to Autobot headquarters! Sparkplug to Autobot headquarters! Spike are you there?"  
  
The young man activates the communicator on the console and answers back, "Dad? Hey dad where are you?"  
  
"Son, Bumblebee and I are following Cliffjumper and Ironhide. We're all going to try to take out Megatron and his goons when we get there, so I just wanted to say.... unless.... I don't see you again..."  
  
Spike pushes the button to talk back to him, "Don't say it Dad! I want you back here right now...come on Dad...you can do this to me!"  
  
Sparkplug sighs; "Son...there comes a time every man has to fight for what he believes in at one point in his life or another. Optimus Prime is swamped with having to balance both worlds on his shoulders, I don't blame him for trying to protect our world from harm...but I'll be damned if I'll stand around and do nothing while a menace like Megatron uses us all like bargaining chips."  
  
The General screams into the console as he too pushes the button to speak to Spike's father.  
  
"Sparkplug, don't be a fool. The four of you won't stand a chance against the entire Decepticon group. Listen to your son and head back right now!"  
  
"Is that General Pressman?", Sparkplug asks.  
  
"Yes it is.", Spike responds.  
  
"Shove it up your ass Hank! We wouldn't have to do this had you not spilled the beans to the Decepticons. As far as I'm concerned...you're just as much a traitor to our world as those secret government agents were."  
  
The General sat there stunned by Sparkplug's comments, he considered Sparkplug a friend in his time of need, and hearing those angry, bitter words directed at him was a blow to his heart. Now he knew he had failed, the Autobots, Spike and Carly, and now even his good friend Sparkplug. Spike continued to beg his father to turn around.  
  
"Please Dad! Don't do this...come back..."  
  
Sparkplug could be heard sniffling a bit, it was obvious to everyone listening he knew he was heading for his doom.  
  
"Good bye Son.... I love you my boy."  
  
As the signal cut off, Spike pounded on the console and continually screamed for him.  
  
"Dad! Dad! Don't do it!!"  
  
Carly ran over with tears in her eyes, she pulled Spike away from the communicator and hugged him tightly in sorrow. He reached his arms around her and began to weep, a touching embrace that even made the General eyes slightly water at the sight. But he dare not cry, instead he walked out the room quietly and continued on until he was outside. Regaining his composure, he looked down at the military encampment and saw his men folding everything up. As one of the soldiers goes running past him, the old military man grabs him for answers.  
  
"What's going on here? What are you all doing? I didn't give you orders to pack!"  
  
The young nervous soldier gulped, "Uh...sorry sir. But we got word from the top brass to leave this area and pull away from every place you have us posted."  
  
The General was furious, "What?! Well I'll counterman that order right now soldier...you tell those men that I..."  
  
"Can't do it sir." the young soldier nervously interrupted. "They even stripped you of command and told us not to obey any more of your orders. They said if we didn't...we'd all be court-martialed and put in the stockade."  
  
Pressman let go of the young man and realized he was powerless to stop them.  
  
"I see. I apologize soldier...you're...you're only doing your duty."  
  
The young man saluted him and looked on him fondly.  
  
"It was an honor serving with you sir. But we've all got families and careers to think about...if we didn't have this dark cloud hanging over our heads...we would have marched with you into hell!"  
  
The General salutes back and then gives the young soldier a pat on the shoulder.  
  
"I know you would have. Tell the men I'm grateful they came this far with me, but it looks like I'll have to fight this battle on my own. Good luck to all of you."  
  
The young man smiles, "And you sir."  
  
The soldier continues to run down to the troops gathering up the last of the equipment and piling into the army transport trucks. As the General watches them all drive away one by one, he notices them all giving a proud salute to him and even shout out a unified slogan.  
  
"GIVE THEM HELL GENERAL!"  
  
He stood there saluting them as they all proudly said it over and over again, this was too much for him, and the old man couldn't hold back the tears that now streaked down his cheeks. These where his boys, he trained them all, fought with them all, and came to his side when he needed them to help the Autobots. It seems that Archeville has finally broken him, but not his spirit. Once the men had all disappeared down the road, he walked up to his lone jeep waiting for him and looked like he had an idea. He started the engine, took one last look at the Ark and drove off. Wiping away the tears and looking rather gruff again, Pressman spoke under his breath.  
  
"Ok Archeville...you win. But I still have a few friends yet who can do me a favor."  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
With a sudden rush of music, an older Caucasian man wearing a plain blue shirt with a red and white striped tie sits in a chair that is facing a camera a few meters away. As the music slowly fades, the man looks up into the camera and smiles politely.  
  
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen...I'm Peter Cullen and this is Headline Forum. An informal chat session discussing the latest headlines that the news brings us."  
  
The man turns his face and another camera captures his image with a slightly bigger shot of the studio stage he's sitting in. A dark background is behind him, making himself stand out more in the eye of the camera. Now facing a round table, the anchorman shuffles his few papers in front of him and gives a concerned look as he talks. A large image pops up behind him on the blackened background, now becoming a graining image of Optimus Prime and Megatron in a distant paused video shot of the two battling it out on Sherman Dam.  
  
"Terror has come to Earth. Already there has been live coverage of these massive robots battling it out across this great nation of ours, but questions remain about them...who are these beings and where do they come from?"  
  
As he talks, more live images of the robots battling it out on Sherman's dam and the attack from the oil fields from the Decepticons continually run behind him.  
  
"In just a few days, they've managed to destroy several key facilities and even killed many innocent lives. Yet the military has been very quiet on protecting our people and makes one wonder why...why aren't they doing something about it? Are these massive robots some secret military secret gone awry, or are they in fact violent alien beings from another planet? With me to discuss this is Senator Bill Burger...."  
  
Turning the camera, the shot now includes the man sitting opposite to Cullen as he looks at him.  
  
"Good day Senator...thank you for joining us."  
  
The Senator is a rather heavy Caucasian man, dark hair with sliver streaks in it showing his age, and wearing a very dark brown suit with a tie to match. The man nods at the interviewer's greetings and continues to listen.  
  
"Sir...how do you account for all of this? I mean why isn't the government doing anything to stop this wave of...of...destruction? Is the President even worried for his own people?"  
  
The camera takes a face shot of the Senator as he speaks.  
  
"I cannot speak for the President, Peter, I have not had the liberty to see or talk with him in the last few days of this horrible event. But it is clear to us in the senate that he means to do nothing. Shocking I know, we were just as taken back by it as all of you were. I've always said that the President was not a man of action, that he lacked the moral fiber to lead this country in times of great crisis. Look at this disgrace already...the military is under his command and yet he remains to do nothing! I've called for a special meeting of the senate to make a vote on removing the President of his command and give full military access to the senate. I mean this is an emergency if I ever saw it!"  
  
The camera switches back to the anchor, "I would say that it is sir. Innocent lives are being loss every time these creatures show up...even some of our dear friends in the media have lost their lives to bring this incredible coverage. It just feels to the American public that our government, for whatever reason, is sitting on their hands and not ending this crisis at all."  
  
"I agree totally with you Peter..." Burger says as the camera centers on him. "The senate must act and act it will...I promise all Americans and even to the world that we shall not let these monsters get away with murder!"  
  
With the camera panning out to get a new two shot of them both sitting there, the newsman adds in a new question to the hefty senator.  
  
"I'm sure the public will favor whatever the senate does. But I'd like to ask you this, there are some reports from Sherman Dam, from the tourists who where stuck in-between that battle, that a few of those robots who call themselves...oh...wait a sec...let me see here."  
  
The man flips through the papers and finds the information he needs to continue.  
  
"A few robots who call themselves...the...Auto...Autobots. Apparently they managed to shield them from the firefight and even rescued a small boy from falling from the dam wall. Does this mean that we shouldn't be targeting all of them...that perhaps some are capable of compassion? What do believe on this sir?"  
  
The senator shifts in his seat and leans onto the table, "We can't be sure what these creatures are capable of...I mean my god...just look what they've done so far. To say we should spare the few that managed to save the odd life now and then is ridiculous! These robots must be dealt with and all must be destroyed...it's the only sure way to be safe."  
  
The anchorman points to the two symbols adorn on Megatron's and Optimus Prime's bodies, "But senator is that not a bit hasty? The two robots battling here seem to have two different markers on them. Perhaps one is trying to stop the other from going berserk or something? One side might actually be our military in special robotic vehicles...I mean...who knows what's going on there?"  
  
Bill Burger clears his throat and leans back in his chair with a stubborn air, "Pointless, utterly pointless. If that is our own men battling in some sort of...strange new military weaponry...then why haven't they come forward to tell us? Hm? We must stop them at all costs from harming any more of our people, and if that means doing whatever is necessary then by god...we must! The events of 911 taught us to never allow terrorists to get into our country ever again...then we also shouldn't allow massive, destructive robots to be here either."  
  
"Do you think they are aliens from outer space as some have claimed on other networks?", the reporter tries to add in.  
  
Burger shakes his head, "Aliens from outer space...please! Let's not get carried away with foolishness. I do not believe these machines are alien of any kind...more like a very dangerous experiment gone wrong. I intend to get to the bottom of this one way or another."  
  
"Thank you Senator, it appears we're out of time for now. Good luck to you and the rest of the senate, I hope you manage to solve this issue quickly."  
  
The senator nods and smiles politely, "Thank you Peter. Always a pleasure, I'd also like to add that my new campaign for the presidency will shortly begin once we've managed to get President Frank Welker out of office."  
  
The newsman rolls his eyes and smirks slightly after hearing the man add in that last line.  
  
"Naturally...uhm...anyways, we will of course inform all of you the viewing public of any new developments should they arrive. Until then...this has been Headline Forum, good day."  
  
As the picture shuts off, the hand of Archeville can be seen holding the TV remote in his hand. As he lowers it down to his chair side table, a long sigh escapes his mouth as he broods in his big, dark chair facing the blank screen.  
  
"Ugh...I hate these politicians. I don't trust that Senator Burger, he's been sniffing around my men for far too long. There was a time I would ignore such imbeciles like him...but now he's really pushing my buttons."  
  
A deep male voice beside him booms out, "Should we...you know...take care of him?"  
  
The Doctor's other hand appears out of the chair and waves the man down, "No, no...not right now. Perhaps after our task is complete and Project N is fully operational, then we'll deal with that fool Senator Burger. The fat slob has always been greedy for power, in the end, his greed will be his down fall."  
  
The man beside him snickers at the Doctor's wisecrack, "Yes sir. And what are we to do about the General...I'm sure he's pretty pissed at you."  
  
Once again Archeville sighs and switches on other news broadcasts on the TV.  
  
"What can he do now? I've taken everything he holds dear hostage, his men, his family and now all he has left is his stubborn pride. But just in case he does do something foolish...see to it that he learns that with betrayal comes consequences."  
  
"I will keep an eye on him for you." the man says back.  
  
The Doctor smiles and looks over at him.  
  
"I know you will...take this weapon and be ready. When the time comes, and I'm sure it will, I want you to make sure there is no evidence left behind. Understood?"  
  
His hand raises up a strange looking weapon that looks like a modified gun. As the man's gloved hand reaches for it, he gives his boss a confident answer.  
  
"Completely sir. Completely."  
  
On one of the TV sets sitting in front of Doctor Archeville, a Caucasian female news anchor is talking away with an image of an satellite shot of the Decepticon ship construction site.  
  
"This just in..." the woman says with a dead pan look. "We've just located a spot in the Colorado flats where something that looks like a massive ship is being built. Sources say it could be the gathering point of the giant robots that have recently been terrorizing America, it looks as though the craft is almost finished completion and could be ready to launch at any given time. Engineers and officials at NASA have been studying images of the ship and are baffled at the sheer speed of which such a craft could be constructed so swiftly. NASA Engineer Chris Latta had this to say..."  
  
The image switches to an inlet photo of the engineer with the multiple satellite photos cascading one after the other in behind it.  
  
"It's absolutely incredible looking at this thing Nancy, these robots are building at ten times the speed any worker could on one of the shuttles or even a regular skyscraper. I mean...my god, there's no telling what these robots are capable of should this thing be completed. They must be trying to get into the sky or even space in a hurry...either way I feel that we are certainly about to see something happen there in a matter of days."  
  
"Are you sure that this is a ship?" The woman asks Latta in the pre-taped interview. "Perhaps it's a massive missile being made to strike at another nation or some other target?"  
  
The engineer answers back with a calm assurance, "No, this is a ship. It's much too large for a warhead or even built for one purpose alone. From what we've seen here, the level of technology of this sort of design is beyond anything we could ever dream of coming up with. I can clearly say without hesitation that this is definitely not of this Earth. No one has the ability to create a ship from scratch in a matter of days like they have, no one from this planet anyways."  
  
"Are you saying these robots are aliens Mr. Latta?"  
  
"Nancy...I can only tell you what I believe...and I believe these guys are not from around here. That's a rather unprofessional opinion I know...but that's the general feeling down here at NASA."  
  
The anchorwoman is shown again, looking very concerned after the brief statement by the engineer.  
  
"That was Chris Latta at the NASA Propulsion Laboratory giving his assessment of the robot's ship. Networks around the globe are reporting on this situation as well, many have also given the notion that these beings are in fact from another world. There are scientists around the globe that are also watching this development carefully and wondering why the United States government is remaining on the sidelines from acting on this serious threat within the country. A brief and very un-descriptive written statement came out of the White House on this matter and quoted as only saying: The President and his staff are fully aware of what is happening and they are currently looking into this matter closely."  
  
The woman then turns to her side as the camera follows her movements. With a new smaller image appearing to the left side of her, she begins to change the papers in her hands and reads another news story.  
  
"To our neighbors to the north now, as Canada is mourning the loss of one of its key members to mysterious circumstances. Officials are being tight lipped about the sudden death of Keith Daniels, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who apparently was found dead in his car in the Ottawa River. Speculation and rumor has spread about his death from it being simply a case of suicide or a government cover up. There was even a report that the man died from a gunshot to the head, but no one can confirm this rumor as his body has already been transferred to an undisclosed location. That's it for this hour...back in five for more top stories, the weather and sports. I'm Nancy Malton, see you in a few..."  
  
The commercial comes on with the face of a Caucasian male with a blond crop- cut hairstyle screaming to the top of his lungs.  
  
"Yo JOE!!"  
  
As the commercial plays on, it shows various people in combat, tanks and planes bombing one another with large explosions and digital effects of amazing detail.  
  
"Get ready for the Greatest American Hero to explode onto the big screen...G.I. JOE, The motion picture. Coming soon to a theater near you.", the commercial's deep booming male voice over announces. 


	17. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 17 – The Ruby Mine Of Burma  
  
Out across a rocky terrain, a large mound sits like a mountain smoothed away from eons of erosion. Strewn about lay various digging equipment and destroyed waterways that lead into the various holes with in the mound's caverns. High above, in the blue sky filled with layered clouds disappearing slowly like mist in the wind, a sudden figure appears out of nowhere. The bright flash of green and a blurred streak of the object now comes into focus as it materializes. Megatron, leader of the Decepticons has returned to the Ruby Mines of Burma. He hovers down slowly into the open air vent above the mound, the smoke billowing out of it suggests there is work being done deep below it's rocky interior. As he lowers himself into the darkness, he is soon surrounded in light as he finally reaches the bottom where all of his Decepticon soldiers are busily working away. Most of the Decepticons are using their hand weapons to blast the rocky walls down, some use drilling bits their hands can convert into. The leader smiles with joy at the sight of the interior walls shimmering with precious ruby crystals. Crystals that have turned out to be raw energon, the ancient power once used by their ancestors on Cybertron billions of years ago. As he stands there grinning like a greedy robot, Starscream approaches him and converts his drilling arm back into his regular hand.  
  
"So good of you to join us Megatron...We've only been slaving away for hours while you haven't lifted a finger!"  
  
"Calm yourself Starscream, don't forget you're on thin ice as it is." Megatron says calmly.  
  
Starscream bows gracefully, "Forgive me mighty Megatron...how quickly I have forgotten. Now then, tell me...did it work?"  
  
Megatron smirked at the question, "Like a dream Starscream...it seems you are useful to me after all."  
  
"My crude drones were a bit under finished, but what can you expect with what limited materials I had..." The Decepticon jet confesses.  
  
"Oh don't be so modest, Starscream.", the leader says patting the robotic jet's shoulder. "In fact it did so well...you have redeemed yourself, I'm placing you back as commander of your jet squad. That look in Optimus Prime's face was worth more to me then all the energon in the galaxy."  
  
Starscream looked relieved as the leader laughed evilly about the entire situation. No doubt the Decepticon jet was pleased to hear he was back in the leader's good graces.  
  
"Th-thank you Megatron! Does this mean I get to be your second in command again?"  
  
Megatron laughed again, "Please...I said you redeemed your self. You have to earn my trust again fully...and that will take a long time yet...commander."  
  
Starscream scowled at the mocking answer Megatron gave him, "But...but...I...I thought this would..."  
  
Megatron interrupted him, "Enough! Be happy that I've given you back your old title again commander...and not had your head placed on a spike upon our return to Cybertron. Which is where you were headed not so long ago."  
  
Starscream accepted the leader's decision and bowed to him again very humble.  
  
"Yes...thank you leader. I am grateful for getting my old job back."  
  
As Megatron passed him, Starscream rose slowly back from his bow and his eyes squinted in rage. Not being placed back in second command meant he had no official authority over any of the other Decepticons, at least, he thought, he was back in charge of his air force again.  
  
"Soundwave!", Megatron beckoned to the yellow-eyed cycloptic robot. "Give me a progress report."  
  
The blue robot bowed and displayed image charts of the work.  
  
"We have collected nearly the estimated amount we can carry back to Cybertron. The transport will be slightly heavier upon takeoff."  
  
The leader folded his arms and stared at the data scrolling on Soundwave's chest plate.  
  
"Hmm...I hope the Constructicons have compensated for this extra load. I would hate to think we'd be stuck on this miserable planet any second longer then necessary."  
  
The monotone voice robot nodded, "I have already discussed it with Scrapper...he assures me the ship will be able to withstand the added drain to the engines."  
  
Megatron smiled, "Excellent work Soundwave. Tell the others to speed up the progress and collect the final batch of energon, the sooner we leave this world... the better. Humans are becoming too interested in our species...it seems I've underestimated their nature. This strange greed and interest in technology is very discomforting to me..."  
  
As Soundwave stands there wondering what Megatron is on about, the leader looks up at him after breaking his thought and shouts at him.  
  
"Well?! What are you still standing here for? Get going!"  
  
Soundwave recoils in fear and runs over to a group of busy Decepticons to tell them to increase their workload.  
  
Outside, near the base of the ruby mine, another blurred object speeds into focus. The green streak now becomes a shade of red, and becomes the shape of a car. The small Mini looking vehicle is Cliffjumper. He quickly transforms into his robot mode and takes out his small black colored weapon from behind his back.  
  
"Ok Megatron...gotcha right where I want ya!"  
  
Suddenly as he takes a step forward, two more vehicles warp their way in front of him as they block his path. A red Minivan and a yellow Volkswagen beetle, Ironhide and Bumblebee, the only two that seemed to have followed Cliffjumper to this site.  
  
"Just where do you think you're going bud?" Ironhide says.  
  
Cliffjumper growls at him "See! I told you he was bluffing...not a human around for miles! Optimus Prime is weak for these flesh creatures...it's time to make some noise! Now get out of my way!"  
  
Bumblebee opens the driver side door and lets Sparkplug step out.  
  
"Uh-uh, we're not moving an axle. You don't know what the situation is in there...they might have a bunch of humans trapped inside. You willing to be the one that killed innocent beings?" the little yellow car says.  
  
Cliffjumper pounds on Bumblebee's hood, "I said out of my way damnit!!"  
  
Sparkplug tries to get in between the robot's fist and Bumblebee's hood and raises his hands at the ticked off Autobot.  
  
"Hey, hey! Easy there Cliffjumper! Why are you so mad at Megatron? There's no need to damage poor lil' Bumblebee just cause they want to try to help."  
  
Bumblebee didn't seem to like Sparkplug's comment about him, "Little? Hey who you callin' little? I'm just as big and bad as the rest of them."  
  
Sparkplug laughs, "Sorry buddy. Didn't mean to bruise your ego there."  
  
The small red robot clenches his fist and backs away from the small yellow car.  
  
"You guys don't know...you just don't know what it means for me to get this guy."  
  
Ironhide transforms and looks at Cliffjumper with deep concern.  
  
"We've all got scores to settle with that monster CJ..."  
  
Cliffjumper grabs his arm and shakes with anger, "Then get in line...cause it's me first!"  
  
Now Bumblebee transforms and calmly asks the enraged robot, "Cliffjumper, what's with you? First you try to take him out on your own on Cybertron, then you defy Optimus Prime, and now your getting all crazed on us here. Come on...what is it?"  
  
The small red robot walks a few feet away and sits down on a boulder near by. He calmly breathes out and looks up at the mine.  
  
"Megatron killed my best friend. Hell he killed a lot of my friends, but Grimlock...man he was the best. The two of us were the top of our game...he was known for being a bit of a loner, a guy that wanted to get the job done and me...I was just like him. Grim and I served many battles together; we even knew each other before the war as security guards. Grimlock was the toughest robot I ever knew my whole life...next to Optimus Prime that is. That guy could take a pounding and keep going. I...I...loved that Autobot, the best friend any guy could have."  
  
Sparkplug came over and patted the robot's leg for comfort.  
  
"That's rough bud. Losing a best friend is tough for any person...machine...whatever...you know what I mean."  
  
Cliffjumper smirked at the human, "Yeah I know."  
  
Bumblebee, too young to remember the war in its infancy, had to ask the obvious question.  
  
"How did Megatron...uh...how did he kill him?"  
  
"That tin plated son of a...", Cliffjumper says shaking his fist. "Grimlock and I were assigned to take out the last of Megatron's energy depots on the second moon. It would be a long time before old Meg's would see his soldiers recharged for years to come. But while I was watching the doors, making sure no Decepti-creeps came in on us. Grimlock ran in to set the chargers...only...there wasn't a storage bay to be found inside of the building. Turns out...it was a false tip."  
  
Ironhide now remember hearing about this incident and gasps, "No...you don't mean..."  
  
"Yep." Cliffjumper says back. "Megatron and his goons we're waitin' for us the whole time. Grimlock never stood a chance; Megatron wasted no time and blasted a hole right through Grim's chest. I heard the blast and came in with my guns blazing. But it was too late...Megatron was standing over him as he lay there dying...ripped out his very spark...and then crushed it into oblivion."  
  
"Sweet Primus no...", Bumblebee says covering his mouth looking ill.  
  
"I got shot up pretty bad too.", Cliffjumper continues. "If it hadn't been for Prime coming when he did...I would have been a goner too for sure. I made a promise after that...to Grimlock...that I'd make Megatron pay and rip out his spark with my own hand as well."  
  
Ironhide stood there in amazement.  
  
"I heard Megatron do some sick things in my life...but that one always sends a chill down my framework."  
  
Cliffjumper rises to his feet and clasps his gun tightly.  
  
"I mean to end that Transformer once and for all. So if you fella's don't mind...I've got a date with destiny."  
  
Bumblebee steps in front of the red bot and holds him back.  
  
"Waaaaiiiit a second there. You can't go in by yourself with only one blaster, hell you'd be lucky to even get past the first guard in there."  
  
Sparkplug nods, "That's right. I know how much you'd love to get your hands on Megatron...but fact is...you won't. They'd kill you the minute you try to rush in."  
  
Ironhide looks down at Sparkplug.  
  
"Well then what do you suggest Sparky? We go in and politely ask if Megatron can come out and play?"  
  
"No...but I've come up with a plan that might just do the trick. Cliffjumper...I'd ask you to do it, but frankly...you're too wired to go in. I think Bumblebee and I should quietly drive in and place one of those Autobot bombs inside.", Sparkplug says with confidence.  
  
Cliffjumper sneers at his suggestion, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. One bomb is not going to kill the Decepticons."  
  
Sparkplug looks at him, "Oh really, don't think so? Well how about one massive bomb made out of others? Your story gave me an idea just a second ago, eventhough the Decepticons were waiting for you, the idea to turn the whole bay into a major bomb was a smart idea. Hell, it's kind of freaky now that you look at it....cause I was thinking of the same senario before we showed up here."  
  
"That's right, Sparkplug and I talked it over as we came here." Bumblebee adds in. "We'd have combine a group of the chargers to make an impact. One won't do it alone...but five or six combined? Now thats a bomb big enough to do something major alright. The explosion will make the mountain collapse on them and crush them all into recycled tins."  
  
Ironhide snickers, "Isn't that a tad morbid...even for the likes of you young pup?"  
  
Bumblebee places his hands on his thighs, "Tough times call for tough measures. Besides...I'm smaller then you Ironhide...so I'll fit where you can't. And Cliffjumper...let's face it, you'd lose focus the minute you got in there. Sparkplug and I can go in un-noticed and plant the charges, set the timers and get out before any of them ever know. Then BLAMMO!! Good bye Decepticons."  
  
Ironhide looks over at Cliffjumper, "What ya think Bud?"  
  
The red mini robot taps now rubs his chin and thinks; "I dunno...I'd still like to have Megatron's beating spark in my hands. But you guys are right about them not letting me get past so easily. I guess...I guess it would work..."  
  
Bumblebee and Sparkplug give each other thumbs up.  
  
"You won't regret this guys. We'll finish the Decepticons and end the war once and for all." Bumblebee says with a smile.  
  
Ironhide sighs and kneels down to the smaller robots level.  
  
"Alright then...but you guys better becareful in there. Set the timers for a quick setting and then burn rubber."  
  
Sparkplug nods, "You got it. Now then...lets get those bombs out and see what we can rig."  
  
Bumblebee takes out several Autobot bombs and lays them out for Sparkplug to look over. Cliffjumper and Ironhide do the same giving them all that they can spare. Sparkplug begins to pry them open and takes out his trusty all in one tool to rewire the devices. Ironhide leans in and watches the small human work, he seems impressed with how fast and how calculated this non-robot being is.  
  
"You humans sure know how to figure things out fast...why it only seems like yesterday you didn't have a clue how our technology worked." The southern sounding Autobot mused.  
  
Sparkplug snickered at him, "It was only yesterday Ironhide. I talked to Wheeljack about showing me how to fix those special components of yours, so I kinda got the feel for it afterwards."  
  
"What?" Ironhide says with shock. "Why that lil' brainiac! I'm gonna have a right talk with that lunk head about showin' everyone how to hot wire us."  
  
Bumblebee chuckles at his friend, "Ah don't blow a circuit over it Ironhide...at least he told the right man for the job."  
  
Sparkplug winked at Bumblebee for the compliment and continued working on the bombs.  
  
Back at Autobot Headquarters, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots drove back from their failed surprise attack. Their driving back seemed slower then usual and as they came up the mountainside began to notice that the place was much more empty then last time.  
  
"Where is everyone?" Prowl says in a confused tone.  
  
Hound riding beside him also notices the emptiness, "Yeah...the troops and the workers aren't around. Did we miss a major party somewhere else?"  
  
Continuing to ride up into the Ark, Trailbreaker, Smokescreen, Bluestreak and Windcharger transformed outside the entrance and looked across the rocky plains with their robot enhanced eyes.  
  
"Nothing..." Trailbreaker blurts out. "Not a human being in site. I don't like this..."  
  
Smokescreen and Bluestreak finish their lookout and come to the same conclusion.  
  
"It's quiet..." Smokescreen says.  
  
"Yeah...too quiet." Bluestreak adds.  
  
Prowl drives by them entering the Ark, "Ugh...please don't write that brilliant observation in your report to me later."  
  
Bluestreak smiles as he goes past and then looks puzzled by his comment. He whips around and shouts back at him.  
  
"What? Wait a minute...since when are we giving you reports?? Yo, Prowl?!"  
  
As Optimus drives into the main room, Spike and Carly rush over to him as he quickly transformed.  
  
"Optimus!" Spike frantically says to him.  
  
Prime looks down at them both, "What is it Spike? What's happening now? Where is everyone?"  
  
Carly shouts up at the leader as she strains her neck gazing up at him.  
  
"The troops packed up and left...the workers did too. It seems that they've all been threatened to leave or pay the price."  
  
Optimus Prime's eyes lower, "And the General? Where is he? I want a few words with that human..."  
  
"He's gone too Optimus." Spike says back. "He too was threatened by Archeville. He betrayed us all because they were going to kill his family...and...my dad...he's with Bumblebee..."  
  
Optimus kneels down to him and holds his palm up to slow Spike from his ranting.  
  
"Wait, wait, back things up there Spike. Who is Archeville?"  
  
"He's the reason for all your problems of late Optimus." Carly says calmly. "Doctor Archeville is the one in charge of Drakemore and his men. It was his doing that brought in the weird looking weapons, making the General tell the Decepticons of your plans, and now is up to something else that has resulted in everyone pulling out of here."  
  
The Autobot leader stood up again and placed his hands on his sides.  
  
"I see. That explains much...I take it the General has gone into hiding now that he too has become a target of this...Archeville's wraith."  
  
"Seems that way", Carly says.  
  
Spike shouts at Prime again, "But what about my Dad Optimus? Bumblebee and him are on their way to help Ironhide and Cliffjumper take out Megatron...alone!"  
  
Jazz comes walking up behind the Autobot leader and voices his concern too.  
  
"Yeah Prime...we can't let poor Spike's dad get whacked by those Decepti- goons. Just give me the word and I'll assemble a team to go get medieval on their hides!"  
  
Optimus Prime shakes his head, "No. I don't need anymore of you going out there and making matters worst. No offence Jazz, but this is not the time for everyone to go looking to settle their own personal score."  
  
Jazz looks at him with disappointment, "Well we can't just let leave them there to die Optimus. Megatron's bunch will surly make energon slushies out of them all."  
  
Prime turns to Jazz and folds his arms as he talks, "I don't intend for them to die Jazz. But this is one mission I'm going to go out alone on, Cliffjumper has to fall back in line, as do Ironhide and Bumblebee. I'm going to go out there and bring them back..."  
  
Carly's eyes show surprise, "Alone? But...but..."  
  
Prime looks down at both her and Spike, the two stare at the transformer with concern.  
  
"Alone Carly." Optimus bluntly states. "I can't have this inner conflict disrupt the group, I'm going to bring them all back myself, even if I have pry them away kicking and screaming. As for Sparkplug..."  
  
Spike looks at the massive robot gazing at him and then showing a more relaxed look in his glowing blue eyes.  
  
"Well...I'll let you deal with him when I get him back for you."  
  
Spike grins slightly and watches the massive robot transform into his rig mode again. The leader spins his wheels dramatically and rushes out of the Ark at full speed. Racing down the mountainside, the leader begins to Trans-warp and soon disappears into a haze of green light and dust that now settles as he vanishes.  
  
"Better look out Cliffjumper buddy..." Jazz says looking out of the doors. "You've got a Prime problem heading your way."  
  
Ratchet walks up behind Jazz and looks at him with concern.  
  
"Where is Prime going?"  
  
Jazz looks back at him and sighs.  
  
"I think we'd better follow the old man...I seriously think he's making a big mistake."  
  
"There's a lot of that going around lately." Ratchet says back as he turns into his white Renault Ambulance van mode.  
  
Jazz snickers at his friend's comment and also quickly transforms into his detailed Sportec 996 GT2 SP650 mode.  
  
"You got that right brother...you got that right. Now lets ride!"  
  
The two spin their tires and quickly follow the leader in hot pursuit as they too streak into Trans-warp to catch up to him.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
"There...that should do it.", Sparkplug says wiping his brow of sweat.  
  
Raising it up for Ironhide, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee, they see that it combined together with a single digital timer. They all look at one another and nod with a sense of satisfaction. Bumblebee quickly transforms into his yellow Beetle mode and opens the driver side door for Sparkplug.  
  
"Ok, let's do this thing! Get in Sparkplug."  
  
Cliffjumper puts his hand between the door and Sparkplug just as he is about to step in.  
  
"Wait a second...I've changed my mind."  
  
"Now what Cliffjumper?", Ironhide says with a groan. "Look the more time we waste the more time the Decepticons will be finished in there."  
  
Cliffjumper lifts his hand back up and folds his arms.  
  
"It was my plan in the first place...I want to go in as well."  
  
Bumblebee also groans at the mini red robot's complaint.  
  
"Oh come on..."  
  
Sparkplug shakes his head and finally climbs into Bumblebee who is still waiting for him with the door wide open.  
  
"Oh for god sakes...if you're going to be this hard headed you might as well join us."  
  
As the door closes behind him, he scrolls the window open to finish talking to the little Autobot standing near.  
  
"Just remember we're going to plant the bomb and that's all. No running through the tunnels looking to find revenge...you got that?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah...", Cliffjumper says waving his hand at him like a child not really listening. "Enough chatter...lets go already."  
  
The mini red robot transforms into his car mode and pulls up beside Bumblebee. Together they rev their engines and beep their horns at Ironhide behind them.  
  
"Good luck lil' guys...I'll keep sharp eye out here for any sign of trouble."  
  
The two small cars speed up the man made ramps that climb up to the main mine opening. The loose dirt stirs up from their tires as they race straight in and soon vanish down the dark tunnel a head of them. As Ironhide waits outside at the foot of the mine, he takes out his weapon from his leg panel opening up and cocks the gun as he prepares for anything to happen.  
  
Deep inside of the mine, the two mini cars continue to drive in, but slow their pace down as they peer in with their headlights on. Sparkplug sits inside of Bumblebee with the device beside him on the passenger side and taps the Autobot's dashboard.  
  
"Hey, hey...no lights! The Decepticons will see it."  
  
"Oh yeah...good thinking Sparkplug.", Bumblebee says as he switches them off.  
  
Cliffjumper also shuts his off and both begin to coast in with their engines running. The noise bounces off the walls like surround sound and makes the little red Autobot give an order to his friend beside him as well.  
  
"Switch to whisper mode Bumblebee...we're makin' a racket in here."  
  
"Gotcha"  
  
Both cars now become as quite as possible. Sparkplug is amazed at how non- sound producing the two cars have become, only their tires crunching the dirt is heard and even that is quite as a human sneaking around with his or her feet. As they drive in further and further, Bumblebee suddenly hears a noise coming towards them.  
  
"Quick...hide!", the robot says in an almost low voice.  
  
The cars manage to find a tunnel adjacent to the one with the approaching sounds, and as they both cram in tightly they cover themselves with the darkness it provides. The noise that Bumblebee heard is a squeaking of rusted metal wheels, but now large thumping noises are joining it as it now begins to pass through the area. Pushing up a rusty looking rock loader is both Thundercracker and Skywarp. The two talk away as they move the container full of rock and earth, they don't even see the two small Autobots hidden away nearby.  
  
"So much for not ever doing hard labor again, huh Thundercracker?", Skywarp says with a bit of sarcasm.  
  
Thundercracker scowls as he pushes the rusted box and grumbles his thoughts at Skywarp.  
  
"I just knew Starscream would suck up to Megs' again...that two timing, double faced lying...Gah! I should have killed him when I had the chance."  
  
"Now you sound like Megatron.", Skywarp snickers at him.  
  
"Why didn't he kill him?", the blue jet robot stops to ask his friend. "He should have pointed his cannon right at his head and done away with him! Starscream doesn't deserve to be our leader again...we should protest!"  
  
Skywarp realizing he's the only one pushing the cart now stops and faces the angry Decepticon.  
  
"Go ahead...I'm sure Megatron will listen. But I'm also sure he won't care one way or the other. Starscream may be treacherous, but like the man said...he's got some uses after all. Building those decoys was a good idea, plus we're the only soldiers he has to battle the Autobots and do all the labor for him. So if you want to protest...go right ahead. Oh...but be sure to keep a sharp eye for your back..."  
  
Thundercracker looks at him with confused look.  
  
"Cause that's were Starscream is sure to aim his weapon at you when you're done complaining.", the black jet robot says as he begins to push the cart again.  
  
Watching his friend push the mine container again, he simply clenches his fist in anger and then helps his friend continue to take the rubble beyond the tunnel. As they start to vanish into the darkness again, both Bumblebee and Cliffjumper slowly drive out and giggle.  
  
"Poor saps.", Cliffjumper says.  
  
"Hehehe, Yeah.", Bumblebee snickers. "Guess it just ain't no fun to be a Decepticon." 


	18. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 18 – The Breaking Point  
  
Outside the dark rocky mine, Ironhide keeps his gun aimed at the entrance and moves his head around to scan the area for Decepticons. Unknown to him, a large flash of green light streaks up behind him on the ground that quickly forms into the form of Optimus Prime as he transforms out of his cab mode and pounces on the ground fully changed. The tremor from his hard stamp shakes Ironhide a bit as he turns around to see the massive leader glaring at him with his hands clenched firmly on his sides.  
  
"IRONHIDE!" the angry leader bellows at him. "Get back to HQ this instant! I'm through having to give you repeated orders that go ignored."  
  
Ironhide was still a bit shaken from seeing and hearing Optimus appear so quickly, but then his look of surprise melted away and turned back to the mine keeping his gun on the entrance.  
  
"Tough Prime...we're going to do this job right. If you haven't got the nerve to do this...then I guess we'll..."  
  
"Be quiet, Soldier!" Optimus interrupts loudly. "This isn't some silly training mission that you can just do whatever you feel like doing. This is a war soldier...and when I give you a command, I expect you to follow it."  
  
That did it for Ironhide; he scowled at the leader and yelled even louder at him. The time for dancing around the issue was over for him.  
  
"That's right Optimus, it is a war! We need to do whatever it takes to finish this, instead of leaving Cybertron and looking for energy, we could have ended this whole nightmare in one finally push. But no...you'd rather let Megaton get away, help the humans, blah, blah, blah...there's a time for being a speech maker and time for doing some hard core action! So go away and a look pretty for the rest why don't yaw!"  
  
Optimus Prime's eyes flared and his fist soon came straight at Ironhide's chin. The blow was so powerful it threw the Autobot right against the side of the mine and made him impact on the surface of it. Ironhide slumped down and held on to his chin in pain, looking up at Optimus Prime, he could see the leader was ready to give him another.  
  
"Is that all you got..." the Autobot says to his leader. "Cause I got a score to settle with you over the deaths of our buddies on Cybertron."  
  
"Damn you Ironhide...it's bad enough Megatron is trying everything in his power to end us all, but now you defy my commands and question my leadership as well. So you want to fight me? Come on then Ironhide. What are you waiting for? This is what you want isn't it? You want to beat into me and make me suffer for all those that died under my command don't you?"  
  
Ironhide stands up and cracks his knuckles, "Ooooh do I."  
  
"You want to blame me for everything that's happened, you want to take out all your anger so you can feel better about yourself..." Prime continues to say.  
  
The gruff southern sounding robot lowers his fists as he tries to understand what Prime is getting at.  
  
"Huh? That's not it at all..."  
  
Prime lowers his guard down slightly and finishes his thought.  
  
"Are you sure Ironhide? How many did you lose under your protection? Ten? Twenty? Fifty?"  
  
"I...I...Don't remember...there were so many..." Ironhide's eyes become lost in thought as he tires to think.  
  
Prime finally walks over to him and places his arms at his side.  
  
"Ok Irohide...you want to hit me. Go ahead. I won't stop you...but I can tell you right now, it won't make up for all those that suffered and died because I had to make hard choices. Not even those that were lost under your command either."  
  
Ironhide soon became overcome with sadness, his eyes widened as if the memories where too much to relive and dropped to the ground in anguish.  
  
"I'm sorry Prime...I didn't mean to...Damn I'm such a fool. I guess this war has really got to me, it's been so long since we had some sign of hope...I guess I was just trying to justify all those deaths...so many good soldiers, so many friends. I'm so screwed up Prime."  
  
As Prime towers over Ironhide, his eyes show his inner compassion and rest his right hand onto the somber Autobot sitting at his feet.  
  
"No Ironhide...it's ok. I realize now you've been very frustrated about how things have been going...but we've got to stick together in these dark times my friend. Only together can we hope to win this war."  
  
The robot smiles up at his leader and takes his awaiting hand to rise back up to his feet.  
  
"You know...you didn't have to belt me so damn hard." he says to Prime with a smirk.  
  
Prime laughs and taps Ironhide's head with his finger.  
  
"Come on...one little blow to the noggin' like that shouldn't have hurt that dome of yours. I've seen you get much worst and still get up."  
  
The two laugh as they bond once again, and then pulling up out of nowhere comes Jazz and Ratchet. Both flash out of their Trans-boost warp and quickly transform, both are taken back as they see Optimus and Ironhide laughing and shaking hands.  
  
"What the-? Now ain't that somethin'? We drive like maniacs all the way here and there they are laughing it up." Jazz grumbles.  
  
Ratchet smiles and pats him on the back.  
  
"Look at it this way Jazz, at least we know everything is fine between them."  
  
"Huh...maybe that's ok for you, I was looking to see a boxing match." Jazz snickers.  
  
Optimus and Ironhide see the two of them and walk over to greet them both.  
  
"What are you two doing here?" Prime says.  
  
Ratchet nervously grins and points at Jazz.  
  
"He made me do it."  
  
Jazz smacks the medical bot's hand down and also speaks with some apprehension.  
  
"Shut up man. Uh...well...you see Prime. I thought you were really going to murder these guys and well..."  
  
"Never mind Jazz." Prime says shaking his head. "Now then, where are Cliffjumper and the others."  
  
Ironhide looks back at the mine and sighs.  
  
"Inside there. Look Prime, we had an idea to blow the Decepticons up while they're all crammed in ...so we built a bomb and..."  
  
The leader raises his hand to signal the Autobot to stop talking and interrupts.  
  
"Wait a minute. You did what?"  
  
"Well, Cliffjumper was going to go in and try to take on Megs' himself...but then Bumblebee and Sparkplug thought it would be better to combine our explosives and crush them all."  
  
Prime looks up at the mine.  
  
"Not a bad idea...did you clear out the humans before they went in?"  
  
Ironhide scratches his head.  
  
"Uh...no. Didn't see any around here...I mean look." He says to the leader, pointing at all the equipment and vehicles lying about. "I think they all just up and ran when the Decepticons came in."  
  
"Are you certain of that fact Ironhide?" Prime says with concern.  
  
"Uh...no...Not really"  
  
As Optimus starts to walk to the bottom area of the mine, the others follow him as he continues to talk.  
  
"This is why I don't rush in when I'm not certain about the safety of the civilians. You men should have scanned the interior for life signs. We have no way of knowing if Megatron has taken them inside."  
  
"Uh oh." Ironhide says as he stops dead in his tracks.  
  
"Uh oh, what?" The leader asks him.  
  
"Uh oh...we set the timer for only a few short seconds. If there are humans in there...."  
  
Prime's eyes widen at the thought.  
  
"Dear Primus! They'll all be killed! We haven't a moment to spare..."  
  
The massive red robot transforms into his tractor-trailer mode and revs his engine.  
  
"Wait Optimus...you won't fit in there in your transformed state. The mine shaft will be far too narrow.", Jazz screams at him over the sound of his engines.  
  
Prime begins to drive up the narrow dirt path leading up to the entrance and shouts back at the concerned Autobot friend.  
  
"I'll send in Roller. He's got the size and the speed to search out the others and lead them back out!"  
  
As he continues to drive up the rocky slope, Ironhide looks at both Ratchet and Jazz.  
  
"This is bad, they must have reached the area by now...there isn't time for this."  
  
Inside the mineshafts, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper walk about in their robotic forms as they try to find the Decepticons. Sparkplug tries to keep to their pace, but having a smaller frame then them makes him pant as he starts to slow down.  
  
"I..I can't keep this up..."  
  
Bumblebee looks down at him and stops.  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry...guess we're moving too fast for ya."  
  
Sparkplug crouches down and breathes for air.  
  
"Just a little...I was a runner back in my youth...but I'm not built like that any more. Guess I'm showing my age."  
  
Cliffjumper grumbles, "Enough with this chatter...let's keep it moving huh? We've got 'cons to bury here!"  
  
Bumblebee is about to say something to Cliffjumper, who is being his usual rude self, when suddenly voices catch his ear and looks down the tunnel.  
  
"Shhh! You hear that?"  
  
Cliffjumper listens intensely too.  
  
"Yeah...sounds like Megatron...."  
  
Sparkplug musters up enough air to now rejoin them both, who now slowly sneak down the tunnel and where a soft white light is coming from. As they come to the edge of the archway, they all stick their heads around as if they were like a comedic troupe.  
  
"Bingo", Cliffjumper whispers.  
  
The inside of the hollowed out mineshaft is full of ruby gems glistening in the reflective light the Decepticons are using to illuminate the area. Megatron is proudly watching his men work as they dig and use their weapons to remove the crystals from the rock. Soundwave stands near the sliver polished leader with his chest plate scrolling the numbers of what they've collected so far.  
  
"Excellent...the work has yielded more then enough.", Megatron chuckles. "These energon crystals will do wonders for our soldiers and give us the power to rule Cybertron forever."  
  
Bumblebee scratches his head as he listens.  
  
"Energon crystals? What? What are those?"  
  
"Oh Bumblebee you knuckle head...", Cliffjumper says as he bonks his fist lightly on the yellow robot's noggin. "Didn't you study history?"  
  
Bumblebee looks up at him slightly annoyed.  
  
"As a matter of fact I didn't. Why? Should this be important or something?"  
  
Sparkplug becomes angry at both of them, "Will you two pipe down! You'll get us noticed...come on, let's plant the bomb and get outta here!"  
  
The two mini-Autobots nod at each other and help Sparkplug place the bomb near the arch. Sparkplug enters the countdown on the small electronic pad on the face of it and the timer begins to launch.  
  
"That's it...come on...lets burn rubber guys!"  
  
The three of them begin to walk fast, trying to let Sparkplug keep up and to not attract the Decepticons either, and soon get far enough up to where they are supposed to turn to the next tunnel to take them all out.  
  
"Uh oh...", Bumblebee says as he looks down the four split tunnel entrances. "Do you remember which way we came in?"  
  
Cliffjumper looks at the various ways to travel down as well and begins to sulk.  
  
"Oh great! Just when this plan couldn't get anymore worst..."  
  
Sparkplug has a look of confusion in his eyes and tries to remember.  
  
"Damn...the clock is ticking and we can't remember which way we came in!"  
  
Suddenly they all here Thundercracker and Skywarp again, the two Decepticons are laughing as they make their way back in the Autobots direction. Sparkplug runs over to one of the tunnels to his right and signals the others.  
  
"Come on...hide over here. Once their gone we can figure it all out."  
  
Cliffjumper tightens his knuckles and shakes his head.  
  
"No. I'm through hiding and running from these guys. I want to put my fist right between their eyes."  
  
Bumblebee groans and grabs the red robot.  
  
"Oh come on..."  
  
As they all bunch up inside the nearest man made hole, Bumblebee point his headlights away from the direction they just came from. His headlights are part of his feet, a kind of advantage to see where one is running. But as Thundercracker and Skywarp's voices become louder as they start to come past them. Sparkplug suddenly lets out a gasp that sounds of utter horror. Cliffjumper was about to scold the human for doing such a stupid thing, when he notices that the human is looking at something down the way. As both he and Bumblebee look, they too give a startling gaze of shock as they look on as well. Sparkplug looks as if he's going to throw up, and looks away. But as he opens his eyes in the other direction, he sees both Thundercracker and Skywarp staring at them all.  
  
"Well, well, well...." Thundercacker says. "Looks like we found us a couple Autobots..."  
  
"And a pretty pathetic human as well." Skywarp adds.  
  
Cliffjumper and Bumblebee turn around to see the two Decepticons standing in the archway looking down at them. Both evil robots start to rub their fists and look at one another with smiles.  
  
"Been a long time since I pounded me an Autobot...Guess I could do with a workout.", Thundercracker jokes.  
  
Skywarp nods and laughs, "Yeah...these babies could use a snack before we go to the main course."  
  
Cliffjumper couldn't keep his rage bottled up any longer, he screamed to the top of his lungs and pounced on Thundercracker like a crazed robot. Bumblebee lowered himself to the ground and swung his foot below Skywarp's legs, causing the Decepticon to fall to the ground. The two Decepticons viciously tried to battle the attacking foes, giving counter punches and what seemed like deadly wrestling moves. Sparkplug strolled out still bewilder by what he saw and then became struck with something else he forgot.  
  
"Oh CRAP!" He shouted. "The timer!"  
  
On the bomb's detonator, the digital numbers continued to scroll, until the last digit finally produced the triple zeros. There was a slight calm at first, as if all sound had been pulled in for a mere fraction of a second and then a massive white explosion appeared. The Decepticons inside the mine looked over at the blinding light as it enveloped them all. As Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were fighting, they noticed the light and fire heading their way; both they and the two Decepticon jets were shielding their eyes as it poured in. Bumblebee looked over at Sparkplug and jumped over.  
  
"SPARKPLUG!!" he screamed as it came over them all.  
  
Outside the mine, Prime opens up his back trailer and a small six-wheeled robot rover comes driving down off of it.  
  
"Ok Roller..." Prime says to him in his transformed mode. "Go in and find the others. Understand...locate and retrieve. But no heroics."  
  
The small dune buggy like vehicle could only give small bleeps and electronic whistles as a reply, Roller was more like a beloved pet to Optimus Prime then being a transformable robot like all of his kind is. Roller is merely a drone, but highly intelligent and very loyal to Prime. If it were to be compared to something, it most likely would be a dog. Lovable, loyal and an Autobot's best friend. The small land vehicle drove in, its built in headlights beamed inside the mineshaft and raced into the darkness. As Prime sat there waiting, he could feel the ground shaking and the rock face sliding off near him.  
  
"What? What is happening??" The leader says in a worried voice.  
  
Suddenly a massive explosion rips out of the shaft and the sheer force of the blast sends Optimus Prime rocketing off of the side of the mine and rolling him down the side of it. Still stuck in his rig mode, the Autobot flips uncontrollably smashing some of his windows and denting his metal framework. Jazz, Ratchet and Ironhide witness the huge blast and see their leader falling helplessly to his doom.  
  
"PRIIIIIME!!!" Jazz screams out.  
  
Crashing at the bottom of the steep rocky mine, Optimus finally lands topside of his tractor-trailer mode and shows no sign of movement after the dust slowly settles around him. The mountain implodes upon itself and sinks in like a massive sinkhole. The ground around the frightened Autobots splits into various cracks nearby, and as soon as the trembling stops, the rock mound that stood for thousands of years was now reduced to a pile of rubble. Ironhide and Ratchet quickly run over to the toppled leader and try to turn him over.  
  
"Optimus! Optimus!! Say somethin'...anythin'?!" Ironhide says with a worried voice.  
  
"Come on big guy..." the medical bot says to him as he tries to flip the leader upright. "Don't quit on us."  
  
Jazz now runs over just as they finally get Prime on his wheels and looks at the badly beaten body of the brave leader.  
  
"Damn man...this just can't be happening!"  
  
"Ooohhh..." The low sounding moan rises from the damaged rig.  
  
Jazz smiles and leans down at Prime.  
  
"There you are...come man, talk to us buddy?"  
  
"I feel..." Prime says in an injured tone. "I feel like someone put me in a cement mixer...with lots of heavy rocks."  
  
Ratchet gives a sigh of relief, "Thank the matrix. Prime can you still transform? If you can't...well... I guess well have to tow you back to..."  
  
"I'll give it a try.", Prime says interrupting Ratchet in mid-talk.  
  
The sound of gears turning, metal scraping and the slow steady beat of his transformation makes the Autobots stand back with a look of concern. Jazz holds his fingers crossed for good luck and encourages the leader to finish.  
  
"That's it...you're doing it...come on Prime! Transform!"  
  
Optimus groans with pain as he slowly becomes partially complete, the final transformation of his hands, head and arms makes him sigh with joy, as he becomes the full robotic mode of himself. Stretching out his arms and twisting his neck, the Autobot leader looks at them all with a tired look on his face.  
  
"What...what happened?", he asks.  
  
Ironhide points to the mine that now lies in ruins and explains.  
  
"The whole thing just exploded into a fiery ash! Boom! And then you got a jolt and tumbled down the side...I knew you were tough Optimus, but if I had any doubt before...well...consider me impressed."  
  
Optimus Prime's eyes grew big as a thought strikes him.  
  
"Roller!! Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Spakrplug!! Where are they?!"  
  
The four Autobots rush over and begin to dig like they've never dug before. Boulders quickly get thrown over their shoulders as if it doesn't way anything to them, the speed and amount in which they work clears away a portion of the debris in front of them. Suddenly, a hand pops out of the rocky remains, a black robotic hand that struggles to wave to them all. Optimus rushes over and un-piles the rocks from the trapped figure. As he removes the last bit hiding the individual, he sees that it is Cliffjumper.  
  
"Oooh, my aching head..." the mini red robot moans.  
  
Prime and the others lift him up to his feet and brush some of the dirt off of his battered body.  
  
"Cliffjumper? Are you alright?" Prime asks with concern.  
  
The robot nods and smiles.  
  
"A-OK...just tell Jazz to stop spinning around for a second."  
  
The Autobots all look at each other in confusion and move the small robot out of the way as they continue to dig. The next one they find is Prime's beloved Roller. Turned on its side and moving it's wheels slowly as if it's still trying to drive.  
  
"Roller...oh poor Roller.", Optimus sighs. "Tell me your not damaged too badly either little friend."  
  
Ratchet picks up the small six-wheeled drone and looks at him carefully.  
  
"He's not too bad, a few dents here and there, but I think he was spared the brunt of the blast."  
  
"Down but not out, Roller is one tough lil' Autobot.", Jazz muses to the massive Autobot Leader.  
  
Optimus takes Roller out of Ratchet's arms and brings him over to his waiting Trailer still sitting there. A simple command from the leader causes the trailer to open up.  
  
"Activate mini station one."  
  
The trailer splits open and unfolds to reveal a large gun turret and a robotic multi-armed crane that pops up from within. The sides have computers, a small repair bay and a ramp that looks like a car lift attached to pull any vehicle in. Laying the small drone in the repair bay side, the crane-robot begins to patch and seal the cracks and dents on Roller. Looking at the repairs being done to it, Prime looks down at Roller and gives a nod.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll be good as new. At least until we can get you home."  
  
Turning to Cliffjumper, who still looks shell shocked, he guides him over to the repair bay and plunks him down beside Roller.  
  
"You too Cliffjumper. That hot head of yours needs to be looked after."  
  
The dazed tiny mini red robot looks up at the leader and gives him a goofy grin. As soon as he gives him a thumbs up, the robot collapses as he shutsdown for repairs. As the group returns to unbury the debris, another black robotic hand pops out of the dirt. As they rush over and carefully dig around it, they see they have found Bumblebee who appears to be facing downward as they uncover him. The little robot moans as he tries to return to a conscious state. Optimus looks at Bumblebee as the robot turns to see his happy eyes gazing upon him.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm peachy Optimus..." The yellow bot says getting up. "But I think we may have a bigger problem with Sparkplug."  
  
As Bumblebee rises up, Optimus sees that the mini Autobot tried to shield the fragile human from the blast. Unfortunately, the robot had nearly crushed the man to death. Sparkplug was battered from the rocks that flew at him and from the near fatal crushing weight from Bumblebee. Ratchet gasped in horror, as too did Prime. Together they lifted the broken man's body and while Ratchet transformed into his ambulance mode, Prime eased the human into the medical bot's opening back.  
  
"Sparkplug...", Prime whispered in a somber tone.  
  
The human fluttered his eyes and showed them he wasn't gone yet.  
  
"Hey...how are you Prime? Sorry...sorry we didn't wait for ya."  
  
"Shhh, easy now Sparkplug. Next time you guys get the urge to do this, you be sure to rig a smaller bomb, huh?"  
  
The man tries to laugh at the leader's sense of humor, but the pain makes him cough and flinch in pain. As Ratchet closes his back door, Prime taps the top of ambulance's roof gently.  
  
"Get him to Headquarters fast Ratchet...and don't stop for anything in- between. Just...just fix that brave man..."  
  
Ratchet begins to drive away and shares Prime's concerned thought.  
  
"Just watch me fly Prime."  
  
The moment he gets a good distance away from the other Autobots, Ratchet Trans-boosts into overdrive and speeds with all haste to the Ark. Bumblebee stood there watching the human being taken away, and lower his head as if in shame. Optimus placed his hand on the small robot's shoulder and looked down at him.  
  
"Ratchet will do all he can Bumblebee...it wasn't your fault."  
  
"No..." The yellow bot says with sad eyes. "It was my fault. I should have never taken him here in the first place. How can I look Spike in the eyes after something like this? I nearly killed the man simply by trying to protect him. I've done it many times with other Autobot buddies, but I didn't even stop to think about how devastating it would be to someone like him."  
  
Optimus continued to hold on to Bumblebee's shoulder with care.  
  
"You did what any of us would have done...I'm sure even Sparkplug would have done the same to you if he could have. The blast would have surly killed the man instantly if you hadn't tried to protect him, his body might be broken, but I'm positive you made the right decision in those critical seconds."  
  
Bumblebee slowly walks away, the leader's hand just slides off of him as he moves, and the tiny bot with his head hung low gives a sniffle and trails off in his voice as he responds to the leader.  
  
"It still doesn't help. I could have murdered my best friends father...."  
  
Jazz grabs Prime's arm as the massive Autobot tries to walk over to comfort the small yellow robot.  
  
"Let be Prime...let him be. He just needs a moment to himself."  
  
The leaders eyes lower and he shakes his head with pity.  
  
"I know, I know...it's just not easy seeing him be exposed to this sort of thing."  
  
Jazz lets go of the leader's arm and sighs.  
  
"He had to grow up sooner or later Prime. You can't always keep him out of combat...let alone shield him from things that most of us have seen."  
  
Optimus folds his arms together and lowers his head.  
  
"All those years of combat...seeing friends die...good soldiers getting wounded...this is still the hardest thing for me to deal with, Jazz. No soldier truly gets over something like this...it cuts deep inside of us and leaves scares that no one can heal but time itself. Bumblebee is a good soldier and damn fine young Autobot, I just wanted him to stay safe and not have to witness such horrible things. He didn't deserve to have this happen to him..."  
  
Bumblebee turns around quickly and looks as if he is about to cry. Having heard every word Prime and Jazz said, the anguish inside of him soon let loose.  
  
"You know who also didn't deserve this?!" The small bot suddenly shouts out. "Those other humans...sweet Primus! Those poor helpless humans!! They're all dead...because of our stupid war!"  
  
Ironhide sprints over and grabs hold of Bumblebee as he nearly drops to the ground in grief.  
  
"Come on Bumblebee, take it easy...what are you yelling about? What humans?"  
  
The yellow Autobot points with his finger in the direction of the mine ruins.  
  
"In the caverns...we saw them...Cliffjumper, Sparkplug and I. Megatron...he...he..."  
  
Prime kneels down to Bumblebee's eye level and stares straight at him.  
  
"He did what Bumblebee? Tell us..."  
  
The yellow Autobot looks up directly into Prime's eyes and shows his sorrow within them.  
  
"The miners Optimus, He killed all of them. He tore them limb from limb and piled them into the cavern. Like spare parts...piled one on top of the other.... Oh sweet Primus! It was horrible!"  
  
Optimus Prime rose up and looked back at the rocky filled crater.  
  
"No..." He said in a quite defiant whisper. "Megatron, what have you done?"  
  
Raising his fist and holding it tight, the transformer shook it with great anger.  
  
"MEGATRON! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!"  
  
Prime's scream echoed through the air and over the smoldering rock crater. Just then, a massive energy blast rips through the debris and the silver metal being raises up from the ground and into the air. Soon other Decepticons blast their way through and fly upwards to the sky, all looking badly damaged with blast marks on their bodies. Megatron flies high above and hovers over the Autobots looking shocked at his return.  
  
"Done Prime?!" He shouts down. "I've done what I've always done. Nothing stands in my way for conquest, not Autobots, not even these weak flesh beings who dare to challenge us. Cybertron has always been the superior world Optimus, every other planet is ours to command and do as we see fit. This belongs to us! If not for you...then the true rulers of Cybertron, The Decepticon Empire!!"  
  
Optimus screams at him with great anger, "You always destroy life Megatron! For you, death seems to be your only answer! I'm disgusted with your methods and beliefs, I'm through with your greed and ego, and most of all I'm through having to put up with the likes of you!!"  
  
Prime brings up his gun from his hidden leg compartment it sits in and rapidly shoots at the evil leader who seems to be dodging his every shot.  
  
"Pathetic Prime! A ship crashing into a volcano couldn't stop me, a bomb couldn't stop me, not even your new weakling friends could stop me with their useless weapon...and now...I know full well that YOU will never stop me!! I shall be the hand that conquers an entire Galaxy, and you will rot on this planet as the failed leader of a dead faction!!"  
  
The Decepticon leader laughs away as he flies with the damaged armada, all of which seem to be slowly heading back to the Decepticon ship across the sea. Prime continues to blast away at him, and soon Ironhide and Jazz join in as they scream in anger at all the fleeing evil group. Two more blasts come out of the rock rubble, now both Thundercracker and Skywarp join Megatron as they fly up in their jet modes. As they pass by Optimus Prime and the others, they manage to send a couple of missiles at them, the impact hurls the bots to the ground and infuriates the Autobot leader even more. Quickly rising to his feet, Prime looks up and sees the Decepticon leader nearly out of his sight, the massive Autobot balls his fists up and screams with all his might at the evil transformer.  
  
"MEEEGGGAAATTTROOONNN!!!!" 


	19. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 19 – Till Dawn's First Light  
  
As the sun begins to set and the stars begin to peer out from the darkness setting in, Optimus Prime, Jazz and Ironhide return to the base hours later. Prime still looking freshly beaten and damaged from the mine explosion and scorch marks from Thundercracker and Skywarp's bomb attack, drives in through the dusty dirt road leading to the Ark. Riding up the mountainside in their vehicle modes, they zoom past Carly who is standing out side with Huffer and Brawn. Casually chatting with one another, they notice the damage on Prime's cab and stop talking as if they've just witnessed a terrible accident. Carly notices how none of the robots says a word to her as they pass by and looks at Brawn and Huffer.  
  
"Where's Bumblebee?"  
  
Both Huffer and Brawn shrug as they too are at a loss of his whereabouts. Then, moments later, the small yellow Volkswagen Beatle drives up the mountainside as well. Much slower then the others, an almost somber Bumblebee drives up towards the Ark's entrance. Carly sees him heading in and blocks the way with herself. Bumblebee's headlights shine on Carly as he sees her getting in his way.  
  
"Please move Carly." The sad sounding robot begs her.  
  
"No.", she tells him firmly. "Not until you talk to me Bumblebee, we heard from Ratchet about what happened..."  
  
Transforming back into his robotic form, the small horn headed yellow and black robot looks down at her with weak looking eyes.  
  
"How is Sparkplug anyway?"  
  
Carly folds her arms as she tells him.  
  
"Not good, nearly every bone in his body is broken. Ratchet is trying his best to mend Sparkplug...but I think if he's strong...he just might make it."  
  
Bumblebee sighs.  
  
"This is all my fault. I can't believe I hurt Spike's dad...I...I can't face him Carly, I just can't."  
  
Carly looks up at the sad little robot.  
  
"He's in there right now, keeping a close eye on Sparkplug as Ratchet operates on him. I won't lie to you Bumblebee, he was very mad at you when they brought him in."  
  
Bumblebee collapses down to the ground and sits with his arms curled around his legs.  
  
"I knew it. The first new friend I meet on this world and I end up killing his father, I should be the one on that operating table...having my circuits ripped out."  
  
Carly sits down with him and places her hand on his arm.  
  
"Oh Bumblebee...you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Spike is mad now, but just give him some time to sink it all in. Your heart was in the right place and you acted as any other decent being would have. You sacrificed yourself to shield Sparkplug from the blast, if you didn't do that...his father still wouldn't have been around right now."  
  
Bumblebee lowers his head down to his folded knees and sighs.  
  
"Yeah, yeah...Prime already tried to give me the 'it's not your fault' speech. Still, I feel awful inside...Spike is my best friend, even though we haven't known each other for a long time, I felt comfortable with him as if we had been friends forever. It kills me to think he'll hate me for the rest of his life."  
  
Brawn and Huffer walk up to him, after over hearing his conversation with Carly, and try to console their fellow Autobot friend.  
  
"Listen Bumblebee, Carly is right.", Brawn says in his usual gruff voice. "Give the guy some time to blow off some steam and he'll be back to his old self. So buck up, huh?"  
  
"Yeah...besides, Spike probably knows it wasn't your fault anyhow.", Huffer now adds. "Thing is, he's just worried about his dad, once Ratchet patches him up he'll be back to being your best bud in not time at all."  
  
Bumblebee's eyes lower as he hears the unhelpful comforting from the other two Autobots.  
  
"Yeah right, I'm no better then Megatron to him now. I...I just want to be alone right now. I'm gonna go for a walk."  
  
The yellow robot stands up and slowly walks down the mountainside, Carly and the others watch him as they give a look of sorrow for the poor small transformer.  
  
"There goes a changed Autobot." Brawn breathes out.  
  
"We all had to change Brawn, nobody stays innocent forever.", Huffer says as he folds his arms. "Bumblebee has to grow up sometime...its time he learned that life is more complicated then it looks. They'll be horrors, laughs, and even some tragedies beyond his control. War isn't supposed to be fun..."  
  
Carly walks into the Ark to check on Spike and the others, as she passes by the two Autobots standing beside her, she says something that both robots seem to nod in agreement.  
  
"War is never fun, all it does is hurt the ones we love."  
  
As she walks deeper into the Ark, she passes by the medical bay where Spike is keeping watch over his father. The large doors are partially open; who can say why, Ratchet probably felt it give the room some fresh air for the humans. As Carly looks in, she sees that Sparkplug is no longer being operated on and Spike is holding his father's hand at the side of his makeshift bed. The bed is one of the army cots left behind, topped with many pillows to support Sparkplug and to help him stay comfortable as his bones heal. Carly gazes thought the door slit and listens to the two men talk.  
  
"Spike..."  
  
"Hi Dad. How you doing?"  
  
The man flinches as he tries to talk or move.  
  
"Oh...could be better. I'm more concerned about you."  
  
Spike's eyes become hazy as he tires to hold back his tears; the sight of his broken father is enough to make him cry.  
  
"Me? Guess I could be doing better myself...why did you have to do it dad?"  
  
"Spike...son, you of all people should know, I never let a job go unfinished. Megatron and the Decepticons are an evil this world cannot afford to have again. We saw it during World War II and I'll be damned if I'll let anyone kick us around again."  
  
Spike snickers a bit and smiles.  
  
"Dad...you weren't even in that War."  
  
"I know...I know...", the man says as he smiles back. "But my father told me everything that happened to him. He always told me to never let evil men get away with evil, something that just always stuck with me I guess. You mother...god bless her soul...didn't want me to join the army when we were younger. Now that I think back, maybe she was right, I wouldn't have had the life I have now. I wouldn't have had the chance to watch my boy grow up, to be by my beautiful wife as she left me, and I might not have ever had the chance to be reunited with the son I thought I'd lost."  
  
Carly, still listening in, had tears dropping down her cheeks as she listened to his heart filled talk Sparkplug and Spike were having. Spike also had some tears beginning to roll down and continued to talk with his father.  
  
"Mom...she would be so pissed at you for doing such a half assed thing. But I know she'd also be proud of you, she always knew you were a man of your word and that if you had to do something, you'd do it without question. She probably knew you wanted to join the fight, be a soldier and fight for your country...but she also knew you'd fight for anyone, no matter what country, race or even...heh...alien being for that matter. If someone did wrong in your eyes, you'd stand up and try to stop them. That's something that's always stuck with me, because I learned it from the one decent man I respect in life."  
  
The two smile at one another and Spike helps his father wipe the tears from his face.  
  
"Son...", Sparkplug now adds. "Don't be too harsh with Bumblebee. Now I know he hurt me pretty bad...but it really wasn't his fault. He was only doing what he would do for anyone."  
  
"I know.", Spike sighs. "I was just so mad at him once I saw you, I wanted to break him apart and pound at him with my fists. I was waiting to see him pull up so I could give him a piece of my mind. But Carly told me to go and watch over you while she waited for me. As I sat here watching Ratchet work on you, it all became clear...I began to realize that Bumblebee was just an innocent, not knowing what his actions my cause or how fragile humans could truly be. I can't image what he must feel like now; he must feel like he killed you with his own hands. This war between the Autobots and the Decepticons is really becoming a stressful time, both for him and myself. I think the two of us just need some space from one another...maybe just let the moments sink in and deal with it when we meet again."  
  
Sparkplug tries to move his head to look at his son at a better angle.  
  
"You know...he reminds me an awful lot like you."  
  
"What?" Spike says in a questioning high-toned voice.  
  
"Yeah, both of you are very similar in many ways.", the tired man says as he tries to speak. "I've watched you two talk and kid around. It's like you've been best friends that have been around each other forever. That's what I saw in you both anyway."  
  
Ratchet comes walking up to the two men and looks down at Sparkplug. Taking out a medical scanning device, he hovers it above the patient and looks at the findings. As Spike looks up at him, Ratchet whispers at him as he sees Sparkplug starting to drift off into sleep.  
  
"Come on Spike. Lets give your father some down time. In the morning I'll need both you and Carly to help me transport him to the nearest hospital. I've done all I can here, now he needs to be a facility where he can get more treatment and mend."  
  
Spike nods and looks down at his father who has now fallen into deep sleep. Gently stroking his hair and kissing his forehead, Spike says his final words to the man as he rises from his chair.  
  
"Love you dad. Get better soon."  
  
Carly had been crying as she watched and listened to the whole conversation. As she slowly backed away from the door she suddenly bumped into something. Turning around she saw a big blue metal leg. Now she gazed all the way up and saw that it was Optimus Prime, who was also standing there listening in without her knowledge.  
  
"Prime...where...where did you come from? I didn't even hear you walk up? Heh, that's kind of strange seeing how anyone could hear the likes of you walk up."  
  
Optimus Prime didn't look down, he continued to stare at the door crack and watched young Spike tuck his father's bed sheets in and walk away with Ratchet in the other room.  
  
"I don't suppose you could have...seems you were too occupied with something else.", the leader says to Carly.  
  
"Oh...", she says sniffling and wiping her eyes. "I didn't mean to eaves drop. But I was worried and wanted to see how he was doing. Do you think the Decepticons will leave Earth tonight? Now that they have the added power I mean..."  
  
Prime continues too stare straight ahead.  
  
"No. They'll need to repair the wounded first, fuel up the ship and make sure everything is in working order. He'll leave at sunrise...I know how he thinks, he's nothing but predictable himself."  
  
"So much death and destruction...I guess our kind wasn't such help after all. We really are a doomed society."  
  
Prime now looking down at her and his glowing blue eyes gave a gentle look about them as he talked with her.  
  
"I don't think that. You know, you humans are truly lucky. You have such strong emotions for one another and have the greatest selfless nature within you."  
  
"But we're fragile Prime.", Carly points out. "Flawed and weak as much as any being. We break easily and have such short life spans."  
  
Prime raises his head up again and looks at Sparkplug sleeping in the other room.  
  
"Perhaps that is a precious gift Carly. It allows you to take the time to enjoy life in those short spans, it gives you dreams and memories that make you cherish all the moments you have with one another. For you, every single day is important as the last. For us, time is nothing...spare parts can be replaced, programs upgraded and our power cores will keep us alive for centuries. We don't respect life because we don't know what it means to have a short one...or to be so fragile that we cannot live to see another day."  
  
Carly stares at the leader in pity, hard to believe that such a military warrior like him would be such a gentle giant.  
  
"The Autobots aren't the ones that don't respect life Optimus. You've done nothing but go out of your way to make sure no one gets hurt. You are a great leader of your people Optimus Prime, a role model that both robots and human should look up too. In many ways, your more human in your thoughts and actions then most are here on Earth."  
  
Prime lowers his head and sighs.  
  
"Thank you Carly. You, Spike and Sparkplug have been dear friends to us since the very beginning...and I'm glad we met you all such as we have. Now I know what we must do, I've danced around the issue and even tired to spare the worst-case scenario. But now I know...we're not just fighting for the freedom of Cybertron. But for freedom of all civilized worlds itself, life must be allowed to go on, no matter the cost."  
  
Taking one last look at Sparkplug lying in the medical bay, He turns around and starts walking away down the corridor. Prime's eyes flash as he says his last statement to Carly still standing behind.  
  
"Evil men must not be allowed to get away with such evil."  
  
Carly watches him with curiosity. She wonders what he meant by that, something was on his mind and she was sure they would all find out soon enough.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
The blanket of stars fully appears in the dark sky and the full moon gives a well-lit glow down below on the surface of the rocky ravine. But this is not where the Ark and the Autobots reside, but rather where the Decepticons and their newly constructed ship sits. The wounded warriors all try to make repairs to themselves and each other as they try to undo the damage the mine explosion did to them all. Rumble, still looking dented with his back sliver weapons attached behind him hanging over like folded pipes, tries to repair Thundercracker's wing. The tiny bot pounds away the dents and rocks that impacted on him by using his pile drivers. As he uses them on the Decepticon jet's wing, it accidentally falls off.  
  
"Oops." Rumble says in a low voice.  
  
Thundercracker looks behind his shoulder and his mouth opens in shock. Grabbing the small mini-bot forcefully, he pulls him in close to his face.  
  
"Why you little twit! Watch what you're doing, huh? I just want the dents out and your knocking off my parts!"  
  
Rumble giggles a bit and nervously smiles at the angry robot.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't know it was that bad. I'll...I'll try to be more gentle next time."  
  
"Make sure there is no 'next time' Rumble...otherwise I'm liable to rip off one of your arms and smack you in the head with them!", the Transformer says gruffly to him.  
  
As he lets the small robot go from his grip, Rumble rubs his sore neck and looks up at him.  
  
"Geez you're starting to sound like Starscream."  
  
"Watch your mouth Rumble! Now stop your yappin' and fix me already!" Thundercracker snaps back at him.  
  
Rumble continues his work on the Decepticon jet, and a few feet down from him is Megatron, the leader looks out over his men as he views the amount of damage done to them. Behind him is Hook, one of the Constructicons trying to repair most of the Decepticons, he's looking all around Megatron for any wounds as he flashes his top light out on him that is unfolded from part of his head.  
  
"I'll get Prime for this...", Megatron mumbles to himself. "His Autobots will suffer the ultimate price when we return home."  
  
Looking down at Hook as he raises his right arm to see him, the Decepticon leader shouts at the tinkering Constructicon.  
  
"Will you stop looking!! I told you I don't need repairs...I am virtually indestructible! Now tend so someone who doesn't have my unbreakable shell and lets get moving!!"  
  
Hook sighs at the leader as he retracts his hand inwards to his arm and comes out with a new attachment. It looks like a large green pair of tweezers that stay attached to his arm, as they clamp down at the leader; he removes something from the small of Megatron's back.  
  
"Apparently your not so indestructible as you thought, Megatron."  
  
The Leader looks at the object in amazement, snapping it out of Hook's tweezers he gazes upon it as it shines in the moonlit night and has a transparent redness to it.  
  
"Impossible. My casing is made of pure sterling Dytainiuim steel...how could one small thing affect me? Wait...this is one of the ruby crystals...that makes no sense!"  
  
Hook puts his tweezer hand away and unfolds his regular hand again. Taking the ruby from Megatron, he studies it closely with his optic visor.  
  
"Energon crystal you mean...the blast must have increased its inner core power as the motion hurled it at you at a great speed. It would have sliced through any metal or being like a sword through flesh. Fascinating...energon crystals must have a greater yield through high velocities then remaining motionless...."  
  
Megatron smacks the crystal out of the Constructicon's hand and grabs him by the throat.  
  
"Enough of your stupid theories! Repair the damage as best you can and make sure no one...NO ONE...can see it, is that understood?"  
  
Hook gasps and tries to struggle out of Megatron's strong, very crushing grip as he nods in agreement.  
  
"And Hook..." The leader adds. "If you breathe a word to this to anyone...or if I hear that you have talked at all, I shall personally make sure that your fellow Constructicons are sure to miss one less combiner in their group. I am flawless do you hear me? FLAWLESS!!"  
  
"Yes...ugh...my leader. You are undamaged and...gahh...invulnerable.", Hook says almost begging to the Decepticon warrior.  
  
Letting the robot go from his mighty hand, Megatron continues to scowl at him and watches his movements carefully. The Constructicon begins to patch the leader and uses a spray paint that almost matches the silver metal housing. Hook's skill for making damaged areas look brand new again is his specialty; if Megatron was to ever look at the spot again he'd never believe he was damaged in the first place. But of course, the leader knows all to well that his structure has now been compromised and his thoughts will now dwell on it from this day forward. As Hook finishes up, he bows to the mighty leader staring him down while he backs away slowly. Megatron continues to think about the wound he received and comes to a new conclusion of where the blame lies.  
  
"These humans are to blame for this...if it were not for them, Prime and the others wouldn't be a threat to us." The leader starts to say under his breath again. "It's time we took care of this species once and for all. The minute we reach the Earth's orbit, we'll use the energon we've collected and vaporize the planet!"  
  
Starscream, having just finished his repairs, overhears the leader's grumblings and walks over to him.  
  
"You blamed me for wasting energon...and now you want to waste it all on killing the humans? How typical of you Megatron, stealing my ideas and spinning them for your own."  
  
"Shut up, Starscream!" Megatron snaps at him. "Don't make me reduce you in rank again for being overly lippy."  
  
Starscream nervously smiles and snickers.  
  
"I...was only joking mighty Megatron. Uhm...so we're going to kill the humans after all? Just when I was getting so fascinated by their structures."  
  
Megatron's grim face soon upturned into a happier smirk.  
  
"Yes, you did seem to enjoy studying those human miners. But you really should have cleaned up your mess afterwards, those bodies began to decay rather quickly."  
  
Starscream chuckles as he remembers.  
  
"I had to be very extensive in my studying of them...after all I am a scientist. Besides, you didn't seem to mind that Prime was blaming you for their deaths."  
  
"Of course not, they were only humans. Optimus is such a weakling for those creatures; he can blame me for that if he likes...it makes no difference one way or the other. But that still doesn't excuse your mess Starscream...the rotting carcasses were a foul air to the caverns." Megatron says to him with an evil smirk.  
  
"Well, in any case...at least we know they're biodegradable." Starscream says back jokingly with the leader.  
  
Megatron and Starscream share a laugh together as statement gives them humor. A rare thing to see both Decepticons so friendly to one another, it makes the other Decepticons take notice.  
  
"Man...that's freaky." Skywarp says as he watches them laugh.  
  
Frenzy, Rumble's twin with different colors of red and black, stops hammering on Skywarp's leg to look up and comment as well.  
  
"Starscream and Megatron? Laughing? You know that can't be good. The two of them are psychopaths..."  
  
"Hey..." Skywarp says looking down at him. "I'll show you psychopath if you don't stop looking and repair me."  
  
Soundwave walks up and bows to Megatron just as he and Starscream finish their hearty laugh.  
  
"Soundwave, good to see your repairs where only minor." The leader says proudly. "Report on the situation."  
  
"The ship is complete and ready to blast off at your command." The cycloptic yellow eye robot says to him.  
  
"What about the energon cubes?" Starscream questions him.  
  
Soundwave points to the stacks sitting beside the vessel and continues his report.  
  
"Energon cubes are ready to be stored into the cargo hold. As soon as the men are repaired I shall have them load them inside."  
  
Megatron smiles.  
  
"Excellent. How much of the ruby energon did we manage to salvage?"  
  
"Eighty percent of energy was unharmed. We should have enough to return to Cybertron and refuel our forces there."  
  
Megatron rubs his chin in thought.  
  
"Hmm...not enough to power the weapons and destroy the Earth surface. I guess I'll have to be merciful and spare these humans...for now. The Autobots may also try to stop us if we stay here for much longer, I know Optimus...he'll want to halt our voyage if he finds out we're complete. Soudwave, How long will it take us to load up and blast off?"  
  
The blue-sliver robot calculates the estimation in his head and looks at his leader after he's done.  
  
"Repairs to the soldiers...loading of cargo...preparing the ship for take off...it will be an estimated nine hours."  
  
"Just at the crack of dawn, eh?" Megatron says as he once again strokes his chin in thought. "Very well...inform the others as soon as they are repaired. We leave for Cybertron at first light and on ward to Decepticon glory!"  
  
Soundwave bows with pride as Megatron gives the command. And with Starscream standing beside him with a grin, the evil leader stands with his hands on his hips as if he has achieved total victory.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Deep in the lower levels of Area 51, sitting in a rather large yet spartan looking grey room is Doctor Archeville. The room stretches out from the door he's facing, like a long empty ballroom with only his chair, desk and a few file cabinets within its space. A few extra chairs sit in front of his table, only for guests or even meetings. Nothing is on the wall, dark grey colors with a few lights that shine down on them like an art gallery with no paintings. Not so much as even a few plants are giving the room any sort of comfort, the luxuries apparently that Archeville can do without. The old man sits in his chair, studying the data collected on the transformers that is being processed on his lone computer. The computer looks nothing like the ones of usual commercial use, its design is much more futuristic looking, with a holographic screen projecting out from a singular device that is linked to the touch pad keyboard. This is one of many devices that have been created for this special base, technology is the forefront in this place and full of devices man is yet destined to build.  
  
As the Doctor uses his finger to shift holographic projections of data around, a soft sounding bell goes off as an automated female voice announces of who is at the door.  
  
"Project Leader, Agent Commander Charles West is at the door and wishes to enter."  
  
Archeville taps his keyboard and the holographic screen turns off.  
  
"Give me his clearance code."  
  
"Alpha 2115-658-2047 Project N AC West", the drone yet unemotional female voice says back to him.  
  
"Verified and approved. Open the door.", the old man says as he leans back in his chair awaiting his guest.  
  
As the unhandled door slides open to the right, Agent West comes walking in as the sound of his shoes clicking bounce all around the empty room. As he finally approaches Archeville's desk he hands him a palm pilot looking device that has images of the Decepticon ship on it.  
  
"Sir. We've just gotten word that the vessel is ready for launch. The Decepticons are repairing one another from the mine conflict and are preparing to load the ship."  
  
Archeville stares at the hand held computer and scrolls through the new satellite images they managed to retrieve.  
  
"Already? My, my, they are exceedingly proficient. I was rather hoping the collapse of the mine would keep them contained until we could get to them...but very well...time to go to plan C, eh commander?"  
  
The Agent looks confused, as the project leader doesn't even glace his way as he says it.  
  
"Sir? Plan...plan C?"  
  
"Yes Agent West. We must use the project weapon...", he says to him now looking up.  
  
"But sir...we haven't even tested what it might do.", the black suited man says with worry. "We have no idea if it will even work..."  
  
Archeville hands him another data pad sitting on his table and nearly forces it at him.  
  
"There! Take that to the engineers and tell them to power it up. Those are the new specifications Chip Chase sent us one that will surely give us the means to stop them from leaving this world."  
  
As the Agent looks at the data pad, his eyes grow even more confused and even looks more concerned then usual.  
  
"It will take us forever to charge this up...if the estimation is correct, then we'd need a minimum of nine hours to even come to close to getting it at half power."  
  
Banging his fist on the table, the Doctor rises to his feet and begins to shout at him.  
  
"Damnit I want it charged now! I don't care how much is in it but I want it ready to fire as soon as they begin to take off! Is that understood, Commander!"  
  
The man nervously nods in agreement and gives a quick reply.  
  
"Yes, Understood. Sir."  
  
The man begins to walk away and just as he reaches the door, the Doctor calls to him.  
  
"Agent West...", He now says in a more calm tone. "Loyalty is everything to me and to this Project. I entrust you to see this get done as soon as possible...and...if you succeed to my satisfaction, I shall give you a job more worthy of your talents."  
  
Looking back at the grinning old man, Agent West understands what he means and happily grins back at him.  
  
"Level 13?", he asks.  
  
"Who knows...." Archeville playfully responds. "As I said, prove your worthy of such leadership and I will reward you. Fail me..."  
  
"Sir, I shall not fail" West quickly interrupts.  
  
"Good. Go now, bring the project weapon online and prepare to reap the rewards!"  
  
Both men nod with satisfaction as they chuckle at one another; agent West leaves the room still smiling from his chat with the Doctor. Archeville sits down in his chair again and looks at the pad with the Decepticon ship images.  
  
"Autobots be damned. I want your technology Megatron...long have I dreamed of such a moment as this. Even in my youth."  
  
Doctor Archeville takes out a picture from his drawer and stares at the darkly framed image of his younger self in uniform. The very young looking man in the old faded black and white picture is wearing the full dress of that of a special officer of the Nazi youth core. As he gazes at the image of his former self, the man smiles and giggles softly in the large echoing room. 


	20. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 20 – No Matter The Cost  
  
As the Optimus Prime stands outside the Ark many hours later, he gazes out into the night sky and views all the stars as they shimmer and glisten in the vast darkness of space. Bumblebee suddenly reappears from his long walk alone, and as he returns to the Ark he notices the large robot staring at the heavens above. He curiously walks over to Prime and looks up at the sky just as he does, with out even noticing the small yellow robot beside him, the Autobot leader lets out a sigh and a prayer.  
  
"For all things worth life and death...let them still be alive and on a world that remains to us as our home."  
  
"What was that Optimus?" Bumblebee says to him.  
  
Prime flinches slightly as he was unaware that the small yellow mini bot had stepped up beside him.  
  
"Oh...Bumblebee. Nothing. I was just thinking aloud. Actually...that's not true, I was just hoping that Cybertron still exists and that those that were left behind are still alive and safe."  
  
Bumblebee sighs.  
  
"Yeah...I do that sometimes too. You know Optimus, being here has really changed me...not so much with the terrible things I saw...but rather being with Spike, Carly and Sparkplug. Out of all the humans that have been trying to use us non-stop those three really have gone out of their way to be our friends and treat us as one of them. It makes me feel so angry that everything that we try to do for them always ends up hurting their kind. I feel so out of place on this planet that I don't know if we'll ever be accepted by all of them."  
  
Prime continues to look down at the small low ranking Autobot and agrees.  
  
"Indeed. Since the day we were reawakened our troubles have seemingly blended into this world's as well. These humans will study our every action, in the past and from this moment on...if we're not careful, we could be jeopardizing our very relationship with them. Which is why I've come to a decision, one I knew I'd have to make some day, I just didn't think this would be the place it would happen."  
  
Bumblebee looks up at him with curious eyes.  
  
"What? What decision?"  
  
Prime lets out a large sigh and looks at the stars one last time. Without even looking back down at the little yellow robot, he gives him an order.  
  
"Call everyone to assemble Bumblebee...I want a line up and a role call of all Autobots out here."  
  
The mini transformer nods slightly and begins walking into the Ark. As Prime lowers his head deep in thought, Ratchet drives up the side of the mountain and comes to a stop near him. Both Spike and Carly step out of his Ambulance doors and look at Optimus Prime.  
  
"Well, we're back Prime. We told the local hospital what happened and they're taking care of him now."  
  
"What do their doctors say Spike? Will he be alright?" Prime inquires.  
  
"They say if Ratchet hadn't operated when he did...well...he might not have made it."  
  
The giant leader turns front ward to face them and looks down at them all. Ratchet quickly transforms into his robot mode and folds his arms together.  
  
"It took some time to explain about how I managed to do it so quick, but they seemed very impressed with my knowledge and skill. Even if I did kind of scare them a bit as I transformed before their eyes. While Spike and Carly took Sparkplug in, I managed to help a few other medical emergencies...naturally they had to bring them out to me since I couldn't go inside..."  
  
Prime places his hand on Ratchet's shoulder and looks at him proudly as he interrupts the chattering medical robot.  
  
"You did that? That was very thoughtful of you Ratchet, these humans need to know we're not here to conquer or even destroy them all. If there is one thing I want this world...these people to understand...it is the Autobots who come in peace and we are in no way like our destructive kin the Decepticons."  
  
"It will take a lot more then that to convince them Optimus." Ratchet says with some hesitation. "With every attack the Decepticons make on them, the more they seem generally afraid of us all, despite our help every now and then."  
  
Prime's bright glowing blue eyes flash as Ratchet points that out to him.  
  
"That's why this war has got to end...and end it will."  
  
The entire Autobot group now comes running out of the ship and begin to line up single file. Each Autobot looks at the humans and Prime as they join together and nod at all of them as they go rushing by. As Prime gazes at Ratchet, the medical robot quickly catches on and joins the others in the line up. Carly and Spike look at the various robots creating a formation that are now all standing at attention.  
  
"What...what's going on?" Carly says curiously.  
  
Prime walks over to the robot soldiers and stands at a point where they call all see him clearly. Spike watches the meeting with great confusion, but as he looks over at Bumblebee, he notices the small robot is trying not to look in his direction.  
  
"Soliders! Comrades! My Autobot Brothers....", Prime announces to them all in a proud voice. "Megatron and the Decepticons have no doubt repaired themselves by now and are ready to blast off at any given moment. Telatran One confirmed the fact that their ship is ready and set to launch at any time."  
  
A great buzz among the group began to slowly rise; all whispered to each other about the announcement and seemed generally worried. As the looked at one another and chatted, Optimus began to speak again and as he did, they all quieted down and listened.  
  
"There can be no more mistakes this time my friends. We set out on a mission to liberate Cybertron and return home with enough power to end the tyranny of Megatron's rule. Our mission almost failed had it not been for some brave souls that reawakened us to finish what we started."  
  
Carly and Spike both felt honored to be praised by the leader as he spoke, and as they were mentioned in reference, the Autobots all nodded to them and smiled. Bumblebee lowered his head in shame and again avoided eye contact with Spike. Once again, Prime continued his speech to the Autobot soldiers.  
  
"Earth has become as dear to us as Cyberton, for it is here that our friends have made many a sacrifice for all of us...some gave their very lives to stop our greatest enemy. I will not let them die for nothing, their determination, strength and friendship have shown us that they are also willing to do whatever it takes to end evil...no matter what form it comes in. Which is why I believe we must strive to do the same. We brought this curse to these fragile beings; we are responsible for their lives and their world just as much as ours. If Cybertron is gone, and our Autobot brethren are no longer...then let us make the final stand here once and for all."  
  
As the leader begins to pace up and down the line of robots standing at attention, he gazes on each face as he passes; all of them seem to be showing a proud look as they listen to his every word.  
  
"Megatron must not be allowed to leave this planet alive. His wave of chaos would be damaging to not only this planet, but other star systems he would surely try to dominate as well. I know I am asking a lot of many of you, to give your very life if need be to stop the Decepticons, but I ask you not to do this for me, nor for Cybertron, Earth or even each other...but for the sake of the galaxy and all life where ever it may be found. As our dear liberator and greatest leader once spoke, 'Let justice and freedom always be protected and do whatever it takes to stop the darkness that spreads beyond. Always value honor and life and let nothing destroy it...no matter the cost.'"  
  
Stopping at Bumblebee at the very end, the leader stares down at him and put both his hands on his shoulders, giving him a small nudge as he says his final thought.  
  
"We should do whatever it takes...and not let evil men get away with such evil."  
  
Bumblebee un-slouched himself and looked at the massive leader with pride. A quick nod from Optimus gave him a notion that he was glad to see he understood his words and soon Prime walked back to where he was originally standing and looked at all of them again.  
  
"I say it's time to give Megatron and his unwelcome bunch a big goodbye. Not just for now, not just for tomorrow...but for all time! Who's with me?", he shouts at them.  
  
The entire group steps forward in unison, the sound of their feet tromping the ground makes Carly and Spike shiver with awe as the Autobots show the greatest act of loyalty they've ever witnessed. Jazz steps out from the group, salutes the leader and raises his voice.  
  
"Autobots! Sound off!"  
  
Each Autobot gives his name and salutes.  
  
"Hound, ready."  
  
"Sunstreaker, ready."  
  
"Cliffjumper, ready to kick some Decepticon ass!"  
  
"Ironhide, ready...and so are my fists."  
  
"Prowl, ready."  
  
"Bluestreak, ready. Just try and stop me."  
  
"Mirage, ready."  
  
"Gears, ready. I may be old...but I've still got some fight in me yet."  
  
"Smokescreen, ready."  
  
"Trailbreaker, ready."  
  
"Windcharger, ready."  
  
"Brawn, you bet your sweet behind I'm ready."  
  
"Sideswipe, ready."  
  
"Silversteak, ready and pumped!"  
  
"Huffer, ready. Just give the word Prime."  
  
"Wheeljack, ready."  
  
"Ratchet, ready."  
  
"Bumblebee...er...oh, ready. I guess."  
  
Jazz salutes the leader again and shouts out like a drill sergeant to a superior officer.  
  
"Jazz, ready for battle Prime! We await your orders, sir!"  
  
Prime clenches his fist and raises it half way.  
  
"By Primus...we'll make them all wish they were never assembled. Autobots...Transform!"  
  
The entire group transforms in unison at his command, each one converts into their car mode like bunch of dominos falling one after the other. As Spike runs over to Bumblebee before he transforms, he looks at him and holds his hand.  
  
"Spike...I...I..." the yellow Autobot says trying not to look at his face.  
  
"I'm not mad at you anymore Bumblebee. I know now you were only trying to protect him, I still think of you as my best friend and wanted you to know...if I could still be yours."  
  
Bumblebee smiled at him, he took his hand and shook it with great care.  
  
"I'll always be your friend Spike. Just so long as you forgive me for what I've done...tell Sparkplug...I'm sorry."  
  
Spike chuckles and can see the spark of friendship between them coming back.  
  
"You don't have to say it buddy. He knows...he just wants you to do him a favor, go clean their clocks. And give them hell for me too."  
  
Bumblebee giggles and lets go of his hand. Transforming into his Volkswagen yellow beetle mode, he opens both his doors and shouts at both him and Carly standing not too far off.  
  
"Get in guys, I'll drop you off before we get to the Decepticons and you can watch the fight at a safe location."  
  
Spike smiles and signals Carly to join him.  
  
"Now you're talking! Come on Carly, let's cheer them on!"  
  
Carly runs over and gets into the drivers side. Spike hops into the other seat at looks at her with shock as she steals the spot wanted to be in.  
  
"Sorry Spike, but I've seen you drive. Trust me...I've got better handling of the wheel."  
  
Bumblebee laughs.  
  
"Ooooh you just got burned. Bzzzzzt!"  
  
"I think I should have left you on the road thumbing for a ride." Spike says back to her sarcastically.  
  
She winks at him and both share a laugh as Bumblebee closes his doors. Optimus Prime looks out at all the Autobots revving their engines and ready to drive out. Such a sight makes him proud of them all and he quickly transforms into his tractor-trailer mode. All turn on their headlights and await his command.  
  
"Till all are one!" Prime shouts in his cab mode.  
  
"Till all are one!" They all respond back to him.  
  
The red and grey rig pulls out past them and begins to drive down the mountainside road.  
  
"Autobots! Roll out!!"  
  
The entire fleet of cars moves with him and drive down together at high speed. As the group of Autobots rush down though the dirt road and on to the paved highway beyond the area, Optimus Prime once again gives an order that they can all hear.  
  
"Trans-boosters online! Activate scanners!"  
  
Jazz speaks up and gives the command they all want to hear.  
  
"HIT IT!"  
  
With one massive green flash, the whole driving fleet warps down the road and nothing is left but smoke, burned tire marks on the asphalt and a massive scoop of wind that sends wild brush flying down the road.  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
Snoring away in his large empty room, Doctor Archeville is soundly asleep as he still clutches his rather tattered photo of his days as a Nazi officer. On his table sits a nearly empty bottle of whiskey and a glass that sits on it side. The man has been drinking the night away thinking of his old life and trying to blur away those memories with liquor. The man is totally unaware of the hour, as the constant sound of the female computer voice tries to ask him if Agent West can enter the room. The Doctor's sound sleep is disturbed once the voice is accompanied by the thumping of someone's fist upon the door. The banging echoes in the room and forces Archeville to awaken in a most foul mood.  
  
"Alright..." he says as he start to stir at the growing noise. "I said ALRIGHT!! Computer open the door, over ride procedure 117 and just let them in already!"  
  
The door swings open and West rushes into the room in total panic. His out of breath gasps suggests he's been running for some time and that he's in a hurry to tell the Doctor something.  
  
"Doctor Archeville! It's...it's...."  
  
The old man wipes his face with his hand as he tries to sober up.  
  
"Oh for Pete sakes! Just spit it out already!"  
  
"Sir! The Autobots have left the Ark and are on their way to launch a major attack on the Decepticons!"  
  
Archeville quickly rises to his feet in shock and drops the photo on the floor beside him.  
  
"WHAT! My god...what time is it? Sweet Jesus, why didn't you wake me earlier? It's nearly dawn!"  
  
Calculating the distance and time it would take the Autobots to reach the destination, Archeville's eyes become a flutter as he works it all out.  
  
"They'll be there in a few minutes...and the Decepticons will blast off the moment they spot them. We have no time to waste anymore...I want that technology and I want it at all costs Commander West!"  
  
The agent nods agreeingly to the raving old man as he helps him try to stand up, Archeville seems wobbly as he tries to compose himself and smacks the agent's hands for even helping him.  
  
"Get off of me! I'm fine...I SAID I'M FINE!! Damn my stupidity for slacking off in a crucial time..."  
  
Archeville tries to fix his hair, or what little he has left on the sides, and quickly runs out the door with the Agent.  
  
"Sorry sir, but I was trying to get you to open up the door for nearly ten minutes!"  
  
"That's no bloody excuse...come on lets fire up the weapon and set the base on alert one!"  
  
As the door shuts behind them, all that is left in the room is a desk with spilt liquor on it and a picture of the young Nazi Archeville on the floor. The picture is being slowly destroyed by the dripping alcohol as it taps down off of the table, the image becoming soaked and absorbing the continued drips hitting it each time. 


	21. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 21 – One Shall Stand And One Shall Fall  
  
As the Decepticons continued to finish loading up the ship with energon, Megatron walks all around the vessel for one last personal inspection. Each Decepticon soldier picks up as many cubes as they can, walk over to the duel lift that awaits them and step on to the platform that quickly elevates them to the top. Once there, they step off and into the open doorway that leads in. Since many Cybertronians have magnetic pads attached to their feet, they can walk on any metallic surface that does not lay vertical. This allows them to move about a ship sitting upright freely and with out having to have the vessel laying flat on the ground. To them, this simple way of moving is nothing, more than any human walking on stairs or even just walking centrally inside a spinning cylinder. This sort of technology has been with them as long as their shrinking technology or any other technology they use on a regular basis, an advanced way of living for them and the means to do their jobs more efficiently. The Decepticons load the storage bay down inside the ship and return outside to bring in more.  
  
Megatron watches the men proudly as they perform their duties, circling the ship one last time the evil leader is approached by Soundwave, the robot raises his right arm up to his chest as a form of salute.  
  
"Energon storage now complete Megatron. Ship is prepared for immediate launch."  
  
"Very Good, Soundwave." The leader smiles.  
  
Starscream steps off the lift as he finishes loading the ship and steps up to Megatron.  
  
"That was the last load Megatron, perhaps now we can finally leave this dull planet?"  
  
The silver polished leader snickers at Starscream's impatience, like a bored child, the jet commander seemed overly ready to leave.  
  
"And here I thought you wanted to stay and study the humans some more Starscream." Megatron says with sarcasm. "But if you are in a rush...then yes...time to say farewell to Earth and it's primitive culture. Inform the men...at once!"  
  
Starscream gives the same arm salute as Soundwave did moments ago. Rushing to the platform where the Decepticons had gathered after loading, Starscream points to the ship and gives the command.  
  
"Decepticons we are to board the ship! We're going home!"  
  
The evil horde of robots all cheer at the news, as they continue to celebrate, they all gather on to the huge lift that can carry them all up and start to move towards the top. Soundwave and Megatron stay below until the lift can return to the ground for their use.  
  
"What of the Autobots? Will we leave them here alive?" Soundwave asks the leader in his monotone humming voice.  
  
"Yes...for now." The leader says with a serious look. "Let Optimus and his band of rebels enjoy the short lived feeling of freedom. For once we return to Cybertron, refuel our soldiers and destroy any remaining Autobot faction there...we'll return to this planet and finish them off properly. More mercy then they deserve..."  
  
Soundwave looks up and sees the elevator returning to them. The Decepticons now inside the ship, it now becomes their turn to head up as well. As it finally reaches them, Megatron and Soundwave step on to it and slowly ascend upward. Megatron smirks with great evil as he thinks of all the things he's going to do once he reaches his home world again.  
  
"So close Soundwave...I can almost feel our destiny at hand, Cybertron, the galaxy and the universe at large under our empire..."  
  
As the roar of the ship engines begin to sound below, Megatron chuckles and finishes his thought.  
  
"So close...to total conquest."  
  
Soundwave starts to laugh with the leader as his giggling becomes infectious. But suddenly, the blue and sliver robot stops immediately and looks out at the horizon. Like a rabbit sensing danger near by, the robot perks up and focuses his attention towards it.  
  
"Megatron! I am detecting a large energy signature heading our way!"  
  
"Eh?", the leader says as he too stops laughing. "What now? More humans...."  
  
"Negative!" Soundwave says shaking his head. "The energy reading is that of the Autobots!"  
  
"No...", the leader gasps. "How many? How many of them Soundwave?!!"  
  
"All of them!" The single eyed robot says in a shocked breath.  
  
No sooner had he said that, than out of the barren wasteland came a large streak of green light and all of the Autobots rushing in with their car modes. As the dusky sky began to reveal the beaming light of the new day sun, the entire line up transformed together and took out their weapons ready for battle. Megatron's surprised look was enough to make Optimus Prime give the command so many want to hear the moment they changed modes.  
  
"Autobots! Let them have it!!"  
  
Running in as they fired their weapons at the ship, the Autobots screamed as they charged, the laser fire was so intense that even Megatron needed to shield himself from the streaking blaze.  
  
"Gaaah!! We can't have them destroying the ship!"  
  
Opening a small panel on his silvery arm, Megatron talked into the built in microphone attached to it, his booming voice echoed to all of his warriors inside as they could hear his words.  
  
"Decepticons! We're under attack! Scramble! Scramble! SCRAMBLE!!"  
  
Pouring out like a flock of birds, the Decepticons quickly came out of the vessel and opened fire on the Autobot shooters. Each one on both sides took up protective shelter as they continued to pummel one another with gunfire. Optimus Prime looked up and saw Megatron firing down at his location with his side arm cannon. Prime's trailer appeared out of its temporal fold and quickly transformed into its battle platform mode. The large gun turret and a robotic multi-armed crane with missiles attached, targets the evil leader.  
  
"FIRE!" Prime shouts as he commands the trailer platform.  
  
The gun turret shoots rapidly at Megatron and the missiles quickly speed over to strike the silver commander. The impact is so swift it catches him off guard and causes him to fall to the ground in a fiery ball. As Prime prepares another strike at the Decepticon leader, Megatron rises up after his fall. With the flames dying out on him and his metal body steaming as it cools, the evil leader whips his black arm cannon out at the trailer and sends out a massive blast in it's direction. While Optimus Prime still motions to fire at Megatron, the evil leader's blast manages to destroy the trailer's gun turreted multi-armed crane. The explosion shatters it to pieces causing Optimus to fall from the massive shock wave it gives.  
  
"Fool Prime! You'll have to do better then that!"  
  
"I've only just begun, Megatron!" The Autobot leader says, as he stands up undamaged.  
  
Opening up his side leg compartment, Prime's large black gun pops out and instantly comes into his hand, a scenario that almost resembles a gunslinger from an old west movie. Megatron quickly dodges the Autobot leader's fast trigger shots as he points the weapon at him, diving for cover behind one of the massive concrete struts holding the ship, Megatron fires back with out looking. Optimus blasts the dirt floor in front of him, creating a massive pile of rock and sand large enough to shield him from Megatron's returning shots. As the two hold themselves up under their separate protections, they shout out at one another over the sound of the lasers ringing through the air.  
  
"This is madness Prime! What do you hope to accomplish by this? You seriously think you'll survive this slaughter?"  
  
"No Megatron...I don't. But I know, neither will you...I'm make sure of it...personally!"  
  
The Decepticon leader squints his eyes as he hears Prime sound more determined then ever to finish him off. Something he has not heard in the Autobot leader's voice since the dawn of the Fourth War, back then, he was full of hope and even had the arrogance to continually challenge him on daily basis. As the war raged on, Prime would become more careful in his methods, no longer as brash and bold as he was before, Megatron felt he was finally wearing him down. But after hearing his voice today, it became very clear to him that Optimus wasn't going to stop until one or all of them were dead.  
  
"You can try Optimus, but you will never...NEVER...beat me!" The leader screams out as he fires his arm cannon at him.  
  
As the battle rages near the ship, the other Autobots scatter and create rocky dirt trenches for themselves as Prime has done. The Decepticons use any form of shelter they can to fight on the ground, the cement struts near the ship, left over materials from the construction, even using the lower half of the ship to protect themselves. Bumblebee, Brawn and Gears all manage to share one of their makeshift trenches and take turns firing at the enemy.  
  
"Cozy little shack you've got here Gears...mind if we bunk?" Brawn says laughingly.  
  
"Come on in fellas, the only thing this thing is missing is quiet neighbors." Gears jokes back in his aged voice.  
  
Bumblebee groans at the two sharing terrible banter to one another.  
  
"Ah put a cork in it you two...we've got Decepticons to kill!"  
  
"Look who thinks he's grown up?" Brawn laughs as he stands up to shoot.  
  
Gears leans back down and reloads his weapon with another energon power pack.  
  
"That's the youth of today...no respect for elders or for their sense of humor."  
  
The little yellow Autobot darts up and down as he shoots and hides from the return fire.  
  
"I got your humor...I just think you need more practice at it."  
  
Over in another dirt mound, both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are poised over the heap of it firing their weapons at Starscream and Soundwave.  
  
"HAHA! This is the life huh, Sunstreaker? Boy, Kup would really love to be in this battle I'll bet." Sideswipe says with youthful enthusiasm.  
  
"Speak for yourself bro." Sunstreaker says back at him. "I would rather be somewhere else living the high life."  
  
Both Autobots quickly duck as the return fire forces them to hide downwards.  
  
"Well it doesn't get much higher then this..." The sleek red and black colored robot says in a cheerful smirk.  
  
"What do you mean higher?" Sunstreaker looks at him questioningly. "We're chompin' on the dirt!"  
  
Starscream and Soundwave continue to fire away at every Autobot they can, the air commander uses both his null rays to blast the invading force and Soundwave uses his blue and sliver tipped laser weapon with equal strength.  
  
"We're being overrun! Megatron has enraged them into madness!!" The jet commander panics in his irritating whiny voice. "Soundwave! We need reinforcements, NOW!!"  
  
The newly appointed second in command nods at the suggestion, he presses his top chest button and his chest plate pops open as he ejects the other minions.  
  
"Ravage! Laserbeak! Eject and attack!"  
  
Shooting out of his data disk compartment, both Ravage and Laserbeak transform into their animal robot modes. Ravage sprints across the ground and launches his two sliver side missile launchers attached to his back hips. Laserbeak soars high above in the sky and dives down for a quick scatter shot at the warring Autobots. Windcharger looks up at the swooping robotic bird and uses his anti-gravity power to leap onto it's back. The bird is slightly smaller then Windcharger, but Laserbeak is powerful enough to continue to fly around with him on it. The red-grey Autobot pulls on the creature's wings and causes the bird to tumble.  
  
"Time to clip your wings Laserbeak..." Windcharger grunts as he pulls. "Cause this is a no fly zone!"  
  
As Laserbeak shrieks in pain, Windcharger once again uses his anti-gravity to leap off the bird just as it smashes into the ground, with a double flip and landing on his feet, Windcharger manages to avoid harm.  
  
"Sweet dreams bird brain." He calmly spouts off like the one liner of an action movie star.  
  
Laserbeak tries to climb out of the smoldering crater it made as it crashed, flapping it's metal wings and limping like a wounded animal, the Decepticon spy has become the first casualty on the Decepticon side.  
  
Far away from the heated battle, both Carly and Spike watch the valiant Autobots on the top of a near by plateau. Bumblebee dropped them off there earlier and managed to catch up with the others as they raced in to fight. The plateau is a few miles away from the site, but thanks to Spike and his handy pocket fold up binoculars; he could keep an eye on how the war was progressing. Holding the small black binocular in his hand, he zoomed in with the focus to watch the bot's duke it out. Carly looking very worried beside him, simply kept her own eyes focused on the never-ending scene of laser fire that lit up the sky. Nervously she fiddled with her hair and tapped her other hand on her side as she waited for the outcome.  
  
"My god..." Spike utters in awe. "It's like watching a science fiction epic!"  
  
"Please Spike, those are our friends down there." She says with worry. "Don't cheapen this by making it sound as if it's nothing more then an amusement."  
  
Spike lowers his binoculars and looks at her.  
  
"Sorry Carly. I don't mean to sound as if I'm not attached to them. But it is an impressive sight to say the least, I'm worried about them all as well and hope that Optimus can finally rid himself of Megatron for good."  
  
Carly grabs the black colored binoculars out of his hands and takes a look for herself, though the lenses she can see the various Autobots and Decepticons shooting at one another and trying to better position themselves by moving about.  
  
"So far it's going good...oh be careful guys."  
  
Spike comforts her by placing his arm around her shoulder; he looks out to the blazing lights and also gives a sigh.  
  
"Yeah, be careful. For all our sakes."  
  
Carly soon rests her head on Spike's shoulder and suddenly looks up at him as he gazes down at her. Neither one knew why, but for that split second there seemed to be something between them. Eyes locking on to each other seemed to awaken a passing feeling or even a moment of clarity. Spike and Carly both realize what they're doing and began to shy away from one another as if they were embarrassed by the action. Spike nervously snickers a bit and gulps as he recoils from her.  
  
"Uhm...sorry..."  
  
Carly fiddles with the binoculars and almost blushes as she retracts herself as well.  
  
"No. I mean...thank you...I...I mean I was just...my head was tired."  
  
"Oh...me too. Not my head I mean...my arm...it needed to...uh...so...so how's the battle going?" He says trying to shake off the awkward moment.  
  
Carly flutters her eyes as she tries to also come back to her senses.  
  
"Oh...uh...like I said...they're doing...uh...good. Battle is going fine...I guess."  
  
As the two continued to nervously chuckle, three news vans pulled up towards them and camera crews bolted out of the doors as they slid open. The plateau had a small road that led up to where they were standing; it was the very road Bumblebee used to drop them off before he rejoined the Autobots. As the various sized vans pulled up and newsmen came running over, Spike and Carly began shout at them all.  
  
"Hey how'd you guys get here?!" Spike demanded to know. "I thought the military had those roads blocked!"  
  
"You shouldn't be up here!" Carly now ordered. "This is a dangerous place right now!"  
  
The one newsman putting on his brown blazer screamed back at them both.  
  
"Freedom of the press lady! Besides, those military morons left long ago...about time too, we've got to show the world what those monsters are doing to our planet!"  
  
Spike frowned at the Caucasian man trying to fix his appearance and getting ready to go on camera.  
  
"They're not all monsters! There's a group down there trying to save us all from extinction!"  
  
"Please kid." The man scoffed at him. "I've seen what these guys are like in action. I should know...I was there at Sherman Dam in the helicopter they nearly crashed!"  
  
Carly pointed her finger at the man in anger.  
  
"Well who do you think saved your ass when you nearly bought it, pal?! The Autobots that's who...but your so wrapped up in getting the story you couldn't give a crap!"  
  
The man stepped out in front as the cameraman pointed the lens at him.  
  
"That's right babe. This is the story of a lifetime and I'm not going to let them leave this planet without winning me the award for best news coverage. I'm destined for bigger things thanks to them. So shut up and let me do my job! Phil...PHIL! You got that thing ready or what?"  
  
The other Caucasian man holding the video camera gives him a thumb up and shouts at him.  
  
"Your on live right now Jerry!"  
  
Now looking calm at the man filming him, the newsman is seen with the fighting going on behind him and tells the audience of what's happening.  
  
"This is Jerry McLane of Action 7 news. I'm here live at the site of what must be the most impressive battle happening at this very moment. Not long ago these creatures were creating havoc on various fuel and energy plants around the country, now they're here fighting amongst themselves in what must be a major power struggle. We've confirmed the fact that they are in fact not of this world, attempts where made to study the original ship the government was trying to hide, but for some reason we were unable to enter the area."  
  
Spike looks at Carly as he hears that fact and she smiles back with pride at him.  
  
"That's Telatran One...Prowl gave it instructions to erect a force field around the area with the help of some of Trailbreaker's shield generators. All part of his new security protocols."  
  
Spike shakes his head in and snickers.  
  
"My man Prowl. Looks likes trying to keep everything secure now that the army isn't around."  
  
Turning back to hear the newsman, both listen to his attempt to describe to the viewers what is taking place. The camera shows a shaky close up view of the battle happening around the ship, the Autobots and Decepticons now using missiles at one another causing massive shockwaves. Every blast seems to quake the ground the newsmen are standing on and almost lose they balance.  
  
"As you can see ladies and gentlemen, the war is heating up between them and the dangers out here are high. This is the most intense conflict I've ever been a part of folks...not even the wars of our generation come close to this level of brutal raw devastation. I think that who ever wins, we'll be the ones to pay the price afterwards. This may be the beginning of a full blown invasion of Earth and the end of civilization as we know it."  
  
Spike's eyes harden at the man as he spouts that hysterical nonsense to the viewing public, even Carly's mouth dropped at such an absurd observation, the man is clearly in the wrong and is bound to cause panic to the world as it watches.  
  
"Hey!" Spike yells at him.  
  
The man doesn't pay attention to Spike and continues on about what he feels is going to happen.  
  
"With our military unable to stop these creatures and weapons as useless as toys, we might be on the verge of being taken over and slaves to their almighty will. I implore the nations to stand up! Stand up and nuke these bastards before we're all destroyed ourselves!"  
  
Spike heard enough of the man's stupidity and started to charge over angrily. Carly tries to stop him, but soon lets him pass as he gazes down at her. She knew what he wanted to do and let him go without question. Storming over to the newsman as he continues to spread his word of panic, Spike yanks the microphone out of his hand and pushes him aside.  
  
"That's enough! I won't let you continue this crap anymore! The Autobots are good guys...get it? They're here to save us from the Decepticons!"  
  
The man rushes back in and tries to take the microphone out of Spike's hands.  
  
"Give me that you little twit! This is big news...I've got to tell the people the truth...you're nothing but a government plant trying to spin it your way! Uhhhnngggh...the people have a right to know!!"  
  
Spike clenches his fist and pounds the man in the face. Falling to the ground out cold on his back, the newsman lets out a sigh as he fades out. Spike faces the camera with his eyes looking dead serious. The cameraman filming the whole thing lets out a big toothy grin and nods slightly.  
  
"Right on man! I was just waiting for someone to do that!"  
  
Spike lifts the microphone up and speaks.  
  
"People of Earth! The battle you see behind me is not the end of the world, but a battle to protect our freedom and the freedom of the whole galaxy! These aliens have been in a long bloody war that unfortunately came to our planet by mistake...but please believe me when I say that not all of them are evil. The Autobots are here to protect us all from this deadly enemy and only want to live in peace themselves. What they're doing down there is what any of us would do if freedom and liberty was threatened...they're giving their lives to protect ours, soldiers of an alien race trying to preserve a human species they've only just encountered. Don't give in to hate, don't let yourselves be fooled by what others may say about them...I've seen what they do, I've been with them every step of the way...these are good beings and they only want to be our friends."  
  
Carly now steps in to the camera view and takes the microphone.  
  
"The evil robot beings called the Decepticons are the ones doing all the damage. Unlike the Autobots they only live for chaos and destruction. But much like our world, there are those that stand up against this sort of evil and try to bring back peace and harmony. They're doing this for us...and for every living sole in the universe. Don't judge them for how they look, or what others might try to tell you about them...these are our friends."  
  
Throughout the world, on every television set in shops, towns, homes and screens able to see this broadcast, men and women of every age and color watch Spike and Carly as they tell the world of the real truth. In the hospital where Sparkplug lays, he too watches his son on TV as he recoups in a room lying on a bed. The small television on the wall above shines down to him as he proudly stares at his son with a smile. As the camera now zooms back onto Spike's face, he stares directly into the lens and gives his final statement.  
  
"A brave man once said to me...'Evil men should not be allowed to get away with such evil'. I'm here to say that no words were ever more true in the history of our kind. Life is worth protecting...no matter the cost."  
  
Sparkplug stared at his son as the young man lowered his microphone and proudly stood there with his face still staring at the screen. The father almost let his tears fall as he heard his son speak so boldly and nodded happily.  
  
"That's my boy...that's my boy."  
  
Inside the base of Area 51, Archeville was also watching the portable TV near by him and looked at Spike's face with disgust.  
  
"Oh please...I'm going to be sick."  
  
As he steps away from the television, we now see the room he is in, a fully automated control center with a command chair placed in the middle for him. At the controls are several men and women of different colors and nationalities; they all fiddle with various buttons, knobs and tap on the keyboards placed in front of them all. As Archeville sits down he lets out a sigh and looks over at his right hand man, Agent West.  
  
"If there's one thing I've learned in this world, its that the only truth is pure might! Evil has nothing to do with it at all."  
  
Looking back at the control center ahead of him, the old man raises his voice and sits up in his chair as he speaks.  
  
"Charge the weapon, clear the area...open the rabbit hole!"  
  
Outside the dusty base asphalted area, the ground begins to open up in the center of the base. People, soldiers and vehicles all manage to get out of the way as it slowly unfolds like a large flower blossoming. The sound of gears and metal scraping fills the air, more noises begins to arise as something stirs from with in the large opening blackness. Soon a massive purple colored spire rises out of the pitch black hole, the slow rising object becomes larger and larger as it lifts up. Just like their other previous weapons, the mixed technology is all over this massive rising behemoth, large wires and tubes wrap around the cannon like structure as the sun shows it to be just that. Large as a city building, the purplish cannon now finally comes to a stop as it has fully risen to its maximum height. Acheville smiles with delight as he sees it; a slow giggle creeps out of his mouth, which soon becomes an all out insane laughter.  
  
"Wonderful! Hahahaha!! Wonderful!!" 


	22. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 22 – Point Of No Return  
  
On the battlefield, the Decepticons and Autobots continue to blast away at one another. But the Autobots start to notice their energon packs wearing out in their weapons. Jazz and Cliffjumper pinned down in one of their dirt mound protections begin to realize this almost immediately.  
  
"Damn...we can't keep this up for much longer Jazz." the red mini Autobot says as he takes a shot and scrunches down.  
  
"You got that right man. I'm nearly drained on my blaster..."  
  
"What about you Mirage?" Cliffjumper says as he turns to face him. "Hey! Where is he? Where's Mirage?"  
  
Jazz takes a few shots and then lowers his head.  
  
"I dunno, the guy just up and boogied on out. You don't think he's hiding again do ya?"  
  
"He'd better not be..." Cliffjumper scowls. "Or else he'll find my high glossed foot up his tail pipe!"  
  
Across the fields, Trailbreaker has created a force field around him, Prowl and Smokescreen. Small openings appear as they shoot and quickly close as soon as it passes through. Trailbreaker stands and has both arms held over his head as the dual generators on his arms pulsate. The hazy, blue energy surrounds them all like a closed in dome, as waves of energy surges ripple along the half sphere.  
  
"Guys!" Trailbreaker says out of breath. "I can't hold this up for much longer...I'm slowly losing power."  
  
Smokescreen looks up at him as he's crouched down for shooting.  
  
"Just hang on bud! Give us all you can...we don't want to end up on the scrap heap!"  
  
Prowl shakes his head as he stands beside the black bulky robot creating their only means of shelter.  
  
"This is a tight spot we're in. Trailbreaker can't keep protecting us for long Smokescreen sooner or later we're going to have to let him stop."  
  
"Jeez...there's nothing to protect us out there. If we lose his shields we'll be goners!"  
  
"Then we'll have to improvise won't we..." The black and white security chief says.  
  
Trailbreaker looks down at him.  
  
"How? It's not like we can just rush them..."  
  
Prowl looks at his gun and notices the energon gauge, the electronic indicator is showing a low energy status and flashing red as a warning. The Autobot sighs and lowers his gun.  
  
"Yes we can. Kup said to me once, 'when you're out of ammo and your back is to the wall...there's only one thing to do...'"  
  
Both Autobots looked at Prowl with curiosity.  
  
"Well?" Trailbreaker asks. "What was it?"  
  
Prowls eyes flashed and clenched his fist.  
  
"Transform and start a demolition derby!"  
  
Trailbreaker and Smokescreen smiled and nodded to one another, as they liked the sound of that plan.  
  
"As humans say...LET'S ROCK!!" Smokescreen screams loudly.  
  
Trailbreaker disengages his force field and all three of them transform into their vehicle modes. The Autobots then rush towards the attacking Skywarp, Thundercracker and Frenzy, causing them to fire at them more intensely as they drive closer. Trailbreaker instantly runs down Frenzy, as the bot's reflection in his grillwork is the last thing the tiny robot sees, like a hit and run accident, the impact sends the mini-disk robot spiraling in the air.  
  
"BAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" He screams as he hurls helplessly.  
  
Smokescreen tries to hit Thundercracker but misses him as the blue robot jet dodges his attack. Skywarp still tries to fire upon Prowl as the Autobot roars towards him at break neck speed, but as soon as he lands on the surprised black and purple jet warrior, he transforms back into his robot mode and begins pounding away on him with his fists.  
  
"This one is for Kup! And for the Autobots! And this one is from me!!" He howls away at the Decepticon as he thwarts him.  
  
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe watch the three boldy attack the Decepticons that had been shooting at them, and quickly get the same idea as they gaze back at one another.  
  
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Sideswipe smirks at him.  
  
Sunstreaker sighs and looks at his reflection in his well-polished yellow paint.  
  
"Oh well, I suppose some sacrifices have to be made. Guess it's better to go out fighting then to stay here and get all dusty."  
  
"Now you're talkin'!" Sideswipe laughs.  
  
Together they leap out of their crumbling dirt shelter and transform. The sleek red Lamborghini Diablo GT and the chrome rimmed yellow Pagani Zonda C12 S Hardtop Roadster both spin their wheels and speed for both Soudwave and Starscream. The air commander gasps at the rushing Autobots and fires his side-mounted weapons furiously.  
  
"Die Autobots! DIE!!"  
  
The null rays miss the two as they swerve, and then as Sideswipe gets close enough he transforms with a mid-air kick to Starscreams chest. The hit throws the grey jet robot backwards and makes him smack into the side of the ship. Landing safely to the ground, Sideswipe stands ready in a fighting pose as he looks at Starscream gasping to recover.  
  
"How dare you hit me!" Starscream shouts at him.  
  
Sideswipe smirks at the Decepticon jet and taunts him by moving his finger in a 'bring it on' fashion. This enrages Starscream as he lunges at the cheeky Autobot with both fists out front, activating his back legs equipped with the jet engines, the Deceptcion manages to tackle the Autobot and both begin giving fist on fist blows to one another. Sunstreaker is still out maneuvering Soundwave in his vehicle mode as the one eyed robot continually fires at him.  
  
"Stand still coward!!" Soundwave shouts in his monotone electronic voice.  
  
Sunstreaker spins around to face the robot and revs his engine.  
  
"Coward?! That does it...nobody calls me that and lives!"  
  
His tires squelch as he spins them in the dirt; a sudden thrust of power races him straight for Soundwave as he takes aim with his gun. Using his headlights, Sunstreaker blinds the towering Decepticon by using his ultra bright high beams. The intense light causes Soundwave to shield his vision as he raises his arms, and as he peers through his fingers, all he can see is Sunstreaker transforming quickly and his sliver polished fist flying straight for him. The punch drives the blue mini disk player robot to the ground as the impact nearly knocks him unconscious.  
  
"Now look what you've gone and made me do...it took me days to get the gloss on these fingers just right!"  
  
Watching his warriors fail was very embarrassing to Megatron, seeing the Autobots leap out and attack his men with little resistance made his circuits fizzle. As Starscream managed to kick Sideswipe off of him, the evil leader shouted at him as Prime continued to blast away at his position.  
  
"Starscream! Stop fooling around and counter attack them already!!"  
  
"I'm doing just that Megatron!" He says back in his shrill of a voice.  
  
"You're an air commander for Cybertron's sake! Transform and attack you stupid dolt!!"  
  
Starscream realized that Megatron was right and quickly did as the infuriated leader commanded. In his F-19 mode, Starscream propelled himself to the sky and shouted down to his fellow jet warriors who were busy battling Trailbreaker, Smokescreen and Prowl.  
  
"Thundercracker! Skywarp! TRANSFORM!!"  
  
The two robots heard their commander and quickly converted into their jet modes, unable to get a solid hold Skywarp, Prowl soon found himself being left on the ground alone. Looking up at the fleeing black Raptor stealth jet, he shook his fist in the air.  
  
"Get back down here! I'm not finished with you yet!!"  
  
Thundercracker swoops in overhead and unfolds his weapons from their hidden compartments, the wings now hold two multiple rocket launchers and fires a shot directly at Prowl.  
  
"But we're done with you!" The blue angel F-18 shouts down at him.  
  
The impact smacks the black and white Autobot in the chest causing a massive explosion; Smokescreen transforms into his robot form and rushes over to the smoldering security chief as he drops to the ground.  
  
"PROWL!!"  
  
Taking hold of his head, Smokescreen looks at him as Thundercracker rises back into the sky.  
  
"Talk to me buddy! Say somethin'..."  
  
Prowl looks up at him as the smoke billows out of his mouth.  
  
"Ow."  
  
The Autobot chuckles at him as he hears him utter that word.  
  
"At least your humor chip is still functioning."  
  
Prowl giggles back and then flinches from the internal pain that must be going on in his shredded circuits.  
  
With no one looking at the ship, or high above it, the slow rising elevator reaches the ship's doorway with no one on it. Inside the newly constructed vessel, a few heavy steps are heard as if metal is hitting metal. A few feet into the control room and soon the footsteps stop. An ambient green light flashes with the outlined shape of a robot. As the light gives way and the robot becomes transparent again, we soon see that it is Mirage, gun in hand and carrying a cluster of miniature devices in the other hand. The devices look about the size of a credit card and roughly about the same in width, three small buttons are grouped on it just below the liquid crystal screen display at the top of them. As Mirage walks in, he points his gun ahead with caution, checking every corner and behind every door he walks through. Walking deeper into the ship, through the long spacious corridor, he finds the door that leads into the energon storage bay.  
  
"My, my, my..." He merely utters as he gazes at the massive collection. "Busy little Decepticons weren't we?"  
  
Setting his gun down on the floor as he kneels, he begins programming one of the card-like devices as he scrolls with the buttons. With the flashing light on the last button, he reaches over to the lower end of the energon collection and starts to place it on the side of it very gently. Suddenly a gun barrel appears to the side of his head and the Autobot stops moving immediately.  
  
"Naughty, naughty Autobot." The person carrying the weapon says to him. "Didn't anyone tell you its not nice to plant bombs on someone else's ship?"  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
The battle continues to heat up as the Autobots all do their best to stop the Decepticons from leaving Earth. Optimus Prime and Megatron both look at their weapons and realize that their energy is getting low on them. Megatron continues to hide behind his ever dwindling cement barrier, and Optimus Prime is nearly exposed as his self made trench.  
  
"Prime...are you still alive?" Megatron shouts with curiosity.  
  
"Well I wouldn't be answering you if I wasn't Megatron." Prime shouts back. "This shooting is getting us no where Megatron...why don't you stop hiding and come out to face me Autobot to Decepticon. Or are you afraid..."  
  
Megatron's left eye twitches after hearing that, he growled under his breath and stood up to see Prime rising up to face him.  
  
"I am not afraid...not even the likes of you can cause me to quiver in fear Optimus Prime!!"  
  
"Prove it Megatron." Optimus says to him. "Show me that you don't have to hide behind the lives of humans, dense cement walls...or even your own dense soldiers. Let's finish what we started on Sherman's Dam...but without the energon weapons."  
  
The Decepticon leader lowered his arm cannon as he was aiming it at the Autobot as he stood up. The evil robot snickered with delight at Prime's offer and clenched both fists tightly.  
  
"A test of strength Optimus? Bold...very bold of you. But foolish. If you wish to die by my hands...then so be it!"  
  
Prime readies himself for the Decepticon leader, holding up his fists and crouching in a position like a boxer.  
  
"Enough of your endless posturing Megatron...lets get this war over with."  
  
Megatron rushes in screaming at the Autobot leader, a quick swing with his right fist misses Prime as he moves out of the way. As Megatron goes past him, Optimus gives him a sharp elbow blow to the back. Megatron nearly drops but recovers fast from it as he swings around with his other arm. Optimus leaps out of Megatron's reach and lands back onto his feet a few meters away from him. Megatron whips himself around to face the Autobot again and this time leaps up into the air with his right leg jutting out as he comes back down fast. The split second reaction of the evil leader was too quick for Prime to move out of the way again. This time he got a full jaw full of the silver leader's foot and while he stood there dazed for a second, Megatron landed in front of him and head butted him to complete his attack. Prime falls to the ground in pain with the sound of Megatron laughing at him.  
  
"I told Optimus...it's foolish to think you could best the likes of me."  
  
Prime lifted his head up and stared at the leader standing over him.  
  
"And I told you Megatron...ugh...I'd finish you no matter what!" the Autobot says as his blue eyes flash with a surge of power.  
  
Prime clasped his legs together as he lay there and kicked upwards to the Decepticon in a forceful thrust to his chest. The kick was so intense that Megatron hurled across the battlefield screaming in pain. Bumblebee and Brawn watched the leader fly by their heads and past the other Decepticons they were fighting.   
  
"Looks like Prime is getting a 'kick' out of Megatron" Brawn giggles at Bumblebee.  
  
As the Decepticon leader finally impacts on the ground, the sheer force creates a small crater around him that he has to climb out of. Megatron's hand rises up and grips the edge of it as he pulls himself out. Dirty and dented, the leader rises up in anger; his red eyes burn with pulsating energy as he watches Prime slowly walk up through the crossfire of lasers.  
  
"You're DEAD PRIME!!! Do you hear me? DEAD!!" The leader screams at him.  
  
Prime walks through the laser fire calmly as if no one is even targeting him, the Autobots are managing to keep the Decepticons preoccupied separately while the two leaders duke it out.  
  
"Is that all you have to say? I've heard that one before...face it Megatron, this is the end of the road for you."  
  
Megatron sprints over to Optimus Prime and the two leaders lock in hands as they clash. Both trying to now over power each other as they used every ounce of their strength to pull the other one apart. Breathing heavy and groaning from the stress they both stare at each other while they fight.  
  
"Ggggaaah...this isn't the end for me Optimus. Nnnnaaaah! It's the final battle for the Autobots and their failed leader. As the only survivors of a doomed race, your kind will now join them in total obliteration!"  
  
"Rrraaahh! I've watched kill so many Megatron...if we have to die to stop you then so be it. Aaarrggh! A small price to pay to end your miserable tyranny and liberate the galaxy from the likes of you!"  
  
Megatron snickers as he continues to struggle with the Autobot leader.  
  
"There will always be some one like me out there, Optimus...some one that will bring the universe into submission...and rule by the fist."  
  
"Never..." The Autobot leader says as his eyes squint hard. "NEVER!!"  
  
He picks the Decepticon up in a massive burst of strength and holds him up in the air as if he was going to drive him down headfirst. Megatron gasps at being lifted and soon realizes what Prime is trying to do. Megatron quickly switches his mid-section around, spinning his lower torso and folding his legs down in the opposite direction. The gravity of the evil leader's legs dropping behind causes Prime to be lifted up into the air, Megatron grabs hold of Prime's arms as his feet return firmly on the ground again. Optimus Prime now lifts overhead of Megatron and the evil leader rotates himself back into his front position. The Decepticon leader holds the squirming Autobot leader high above him and looks up at him. Megatron laughs out loud with joy as Prime struggles to break out of his grip.  
  
"One turn deserves another Optimus! Let's see how well an Autobot can fly!!"  
  
Megatron chucks Optimus Prime across the battleground just as the Autobot leader did to him before. Optimus now hurls across the Decepticons and the Autobots as he hits a distant cliff wall back first. The leader smacks against it, causing him and the rock face to slide down, as he strikes the ground below the rock and debris fall on top of him. Megatron places his hands on his side and laughs with delight.  
  
Bumblebee looks at the sight where Prime lays, buried under tones of rock and only seeing his blue hand sticking out of the rubble.  
  
"Optimus!", he says in a low gasp.  
  
As the Autobots all witness their leader being tossed like a rag doll to the cliffside, they increase their firing at the Decepticons and move in closer as they attack. Hound, Jazz, Ironhide, Huffer and Bluestreak continue to shoot at the Constructicons they've managed to pin down. As the six green Decepticon builders regroup behind another one of the ship's concrete struts, Rumble joins them as they all check their weapons.  
  
"This...this is bad!" Rumble complains. "We're getting our tails whipped here."  
  
"Indeed" Scrapper nods in agreement. "We can't keep them held back for much longer"  
  
Starscream flies in and transforms behind the barrier just as a laser shot misses his head. Ducking down with the others he points at the others sitting there looking bewildered.  
  
"What are you fools doing?!" He shouts. "Transform into Devastator and end this already."  
  
Scavenger looks at the air commander and yells back at him.  
  
"Look who's talking...you aren't even doing a good job either."  
  
"He's right though..." Haul now says to them. "Let's form Devastator and kill them all!"  
  
Mixmaster snickers at Haul and points out the obvious.  
  
"That would be the ideal thing. But you're forgetting we're missing a man here. Where the hell is Hook? We can't form Devastator without him here."  
  
Rumble snaps his fingers.  
  
"I bet I know where he is...give me some covering fire and I'll go fetch him."  
  
"You?!" Starscream laughs. "Why should we bother to cover your sorry steel hide? You should be laying down suppressing fire for the likes of me and my jet squad!"  
  
"That would be a good idea Starscream...if you guys actually DID ANYTHING!! You guys are just hovering around dropping the odd bombs at them while we're getting creamed on the ground!" Rumble screams as he shakes his fist at him.  
  
Starscreams eyes lower in anger and grabs the lippy robot.  
  
"Fine...I'll do something right now!"  
  
As the Jazz and the others continue to fire away at the concrete wall, Rumble suddenly appears out from the barrier as if he was chucked out. Landing on the ground between the two forces, Hound looks up and grins.  
  
"They must be running out of ammo...they're throwing out the duds!"  
  
Hound transforms into his combat Hummer and leaps out towards the small robot still trying to get up. Jazz sees Hound speeding in and shouts at him.  
  
"You crazy fool! Get back here!!"  
  
Rumble shakes his head from the impact and suddenly sees the Hummer Autobot rushing in; he changes his arms into his massive pile drivers and beings to pound the Earth. The shockwave is causing Hound to lose balance and swerving all over.  
  
"Oh no you don't...not this time!" Hound says.  
  
He targets the mini bot and shoots him with his mounted missile launcher sticking out from the rear of his roof. The strike knocks Rumble off of his feet and lands on his back, the Autobot Hummer jumps above him and transforms into his robot mode in mid-air. Landing back down hard, he pins the small Decepticon with his knees and looks at him with anger.  
  
"I owe you one from Sherman's Dam, Rumble! And one from my good human friend Spike!"  
  
Hound gut punches the Decepticon mini bot repeatedly as he lays helpless to his attack. Rumble tries in vain to stop him as each hit becomes increasingly painful. As Hound is preoccupied with him, Starscream lurches out and takes aim at the Autobot fully exposed in the open. Snickering with evil, he points his right arm cannon at Hound's head and prepares to fire. Jazz and the others see him taking aim and quickly jump into action to save him. Jazz transforms into his Sportec model car and zooms over to Hound. Bluestreak, Huffer and Ironhide give him covering fire as they shoot up the wall Starscream is using to protect himself.  
  
"Baaah!! I can't get a clear shot!!" Starscream screams as he covers himself with his arms from the attack.  
  
Jazz finally reaches Hound and transforms. Leaping into the air he grabs the Autobot and rolls along the ground with him as if to save him. Rumble now free, jumps up and flies away from Hound's reach. Jazz helps his friend up and then strikes him in the head with a fist tap.  
  
"You got lead in that head! Starscream nearly had you dead to right out here."  
  
Hound pushes him away.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do! I had Rumble in my grasp and you let him get away!"  
  
Jazz ducks as a laser shot barrels past him from the Decepticons, transforming quickly, the sleek Autobot rides back to the others waiting.  
  
"Fine! Stay out here and get killed then...see if I care. Just don't come crying to me if you get a blast hole in your noggin'!"  
  
Hound's anger soon fades as he suddenly realizes he's out in the middle of the battlefield all by himself. Slapping the top of his head with his right hand, the Autobot transforms into his Hummer mode and heads back to the Autobot side.  
  
"What the hell am I thinking? Jazz is right...I'm a sitting duck out here." Hound mutters to himself.  
  
As Bumblebee continues to look over at Prime trapped underneath the massive pile of rock, Ravage jumps down from the top of their dirt mound and tries to slash his claws at the three Autobots sitting behind it. Another shot rings out from beyond and soon the black cat is hurled out of their trench as the blast hits him. Running up with his weapon, Cliffjumper slides down with the others and knocks Bumblebee on the head.  
  
"Wake up stupid! You nearly got your arm torn off by Ravage!"  
  
Bumblebee looks at the red robot and just gives him a blank look.  
  
"We have to see if Optimus is ok."  
  
This time Brawn smacks the yellow robot on the head and points at him.  
  
"This is not the time to go out and check! We've got a major battle on our hands incase you haven't noticed! Optimus would want us to push through no matter what!"  
  
Gears looked as if he was thinking about that very thing, the sound of the rushing laser fire overhead made him remember the number of battles he was in and how Optimus Prime was the only Autobot leader he'd ever known that was willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. The mini bot looked at his weapon and saw how old it looked, chuckling slightly to himself, he seemed to remember a time when he was just a rookie and had to keep the Decepticons at bay with his trusty rifle.  
  
"You're right Brawn..." Gears said aloud to them.  
  
Brawn looked back at him and smirked.  
  
"Did you say something you cranky old timer?"  
  
"I may be old...and set in my ways." Gears replied. "But dangnabbit! I don't want to sit here all day and wonder what a world without Decepticons would be like. I didn't think much of Optimus when he first appeared as our leader. I thought he was too young and hot headed...it burned me that such a young whipper snapper like him got command so quickly and I had to climb over endless promotions and dead friends to get the rank I had then. But you know...he turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us...."  
  
As Gears looked up at them all, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Brawn were all nodding in agreement and smiling at the old Transformer as he babbled on.  
  
"Without the likes of him and his spirit...we would have been destroyed long ago by Megatron." Gears continues to say. "Come on Autobots! Hiding is for weak...plus my joints are getting rusty just sitting here. Let's meet our fate head on..."  
  
Gears rises out of his crouch and suddenly runs over the dirt mound protecting them all.  
  
"Till all are one!" He shouts as he leaves.  
  
"Wait! GEARS!!" Brawn shouts as he tries to stop him.  
  
Bumblebee and Cliffjumper gasp in amazement as they watch the crabby robot leap out for attack. Gears fires his weapon at the Decepticons trying to shoot at him and transforms into his blue, red and grey colored Smart Roadster-Coupe. Dodging the laser fire with grace and speed, Gears manages to leap over the cement wall hiding Starscream and the others and runs them down like bowling pins. The Constructicons weren't prepared for such a swift attack and found themselves being run over by Gear's tires. Cliffjumper and Brawn laugh out loud as the watch him.  
  
"How do you like that? There's still some spunk in that robot's wheels after all." Brawn says.  
  
"Now there's a guy who knows how to fight the right way!" Cliffjumper muses. "COME ON!"  
  
The two quickly leap over the mound and fire their weapons as they appear. Bumblebee still stays behind as he becomes uncertain about the method they are all using. He thinks their insane for leaving their cover and trying to out race the Decepticon's fire, but mainly he's still focused on Optimus Prime as he turns to see Megatron standing over the debris pile the leader is lying in.  
  
"Aaaah, Optimus Prime." Megatron says as he stares down at the rocky mess. "It seems that I've given you the proper ending that so many before you had. Quick and easy...so much for the great leader of the Autobots."  
  
Taking aim with his fusion cannon arm weapon, he targets the boulder like rocks that cover Prime and prepares to fire.  
  
"So long Optimus..."  
  
Suddenly, Prime's fist comes rising out of the rocks and manages to punch the Decepticon leader in the face. The impact drives Megatron into the air and then quick return to the ground flat on his back. Shrieking in agony, the Decepticon leader looks up to see Optimus Prime rising up out of the rock.  
  
"Oh, it's not over yet Megatron. Far from it...I'm just getting warmed up!"  
  
Megatron gasps at the sight of Prime still living and watches the Autobot pick up a massive boulder near by and raising it over his head. The shadow of it eclipses the evil leader lying there and screams in fear, as he has no place to run in time. Prime slams the huge rock down onto him with all his strength and makes the boulder drive down into the ground causing it to nearly crack from the sheer impact. Seeing the Autobot leader alive and attacking Megatron, makes Bumblebee cheer loudly and brings back a sense of hope to him again.  
  
"Alright Optimus!!" He shouts.  
  
Gears spins around and transforms again as he hears Bumblebee scream out Prime's name. The old mini bot sees the leader as well and gives a thankful smile that Optimus isn't dead. Brawn and Cliffjumper shout out with joy too as they look quickly to see him. But then Brawn turned around and shouted at Gears with panic.  
  
"Gears!! Look out behind you!!"  
  
Gears looks behind and sees the tri-group Reflector standing over him as they fly in and land. Pointing their weapons down at him, the three chuckle in unison.  
  
"Out with the old...it's time you retired permanently!" The three say together.  
  
Their guns fired at the surprised Autobot, as he stood there with his mouth open in shock. The blasts ripped into him with deadly accuracy and send him flying a few feet back from the weapon blasts. Bumblebee watched in horror as if everything was happening in slow motion. The guns ripping through his structure, the sudden gasp from the old robot as he felt their lasers pierce his chassis and the three Decepticons laughing as they shot him together. Bumblebee's eyes widened and screamed with anger.  
  
"GEEEAAAARRRRSSS!!!"  
  
The smoldering body of old Autobot crashed to the ground, as Cliffjumper, Brawn and Bumblebee watched him fall, it almost seemed like his 'thud' echoed in their heads. Bumblebee's lip quivered as the flood of horrible memories flashed over his mind. The war on Cybertron, the human casualties and now his friend Gears being blasted by three Decepticons. The feeling over powered him, the rage inside built up and suddenly came screaming out just as his voice was doing. The little yellow Autobot jumped over his dirt mound and began wildly shooting at the Decepticon tri-group that killed his friend as he ran forward. Cliffjumper also joined Bumblebee in his rage, the two mini bots continually fired on Reflector as the three unified team backed away from their laser blasts. Brawn rushed over to see Gears as he lay there dying, and held his head up with his hands.  
  
"Don't die old buzzard!" Brawn commanded. "Come on now...stay with us!"  
  
Gears was burning and his body riddled with fractures and blast marks. The exposed parts within him were now tweaking with sparks and smoke. Reflector had done the Autobot in for good, Brawn could see that his wounds were too far gone for repairs and sat there helpless as the old warrior opened his eyes at him for the last time.  
  
"I...I...sure would have like to have seen Cybertron...one...one last time." Gears spoke in a garbled electronic voice.  
  
"You will Gears...just don't die." Brawn said as he sniffled.  
  
"Don't tell me how or where to die dangnabbit! And stop fussing over me and get them...them...Decept..."  
  
Gear's final words sputtered and faded, his eyes became dim and his body became lifeless as the sound of his power core shut down. Brawn's face showed his sorrow at first, but then snickered slightly after his passing.  
  
"So long old timer. A cranky old bastard to the end...may Primus lead you to the never-ending spark. Just don't piss him off, huh?"  
  
Brawn laid him down gently and then rose up cracking his sliver polished knuckles.  
  
"Time for some payback...Brawn style!"  
  
â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢â¢  
  
As the video cameras of the human reporters focused in on Brawn running in and launching himself into a flying upper cut to one of Reflector's clone triplets, grainy footage of it soon panned over to Bumblebee still firing away at the rest of the Decepticons like a madman as he screams away.  
  
"Hot damn this is good stuff!" the cameraman says as he zooms in.  
  
The reporter standing next to him gazes in awe at the battling robots, in fact every reporter and camera crew assembled on that cliff top ridge is enthralled with the massive war going on a few miles away. As Jerry McLane rises up after his few minutes of unconsciousness, he wipes nose smeared with blood and flinches as he discovers it's broken. Suddenly seeing all the men and women media facing the ongoing battle distracts him. Walking over to his cameraman named Phil, he taps him on the shoulder and scowls at him when he turns his way.  
  
"We've got to get down there and film this close up! Now get your ass in that van and lets move!"  
  
As the two start to walk away from the edge Jerry points at him while trying to use a wad of Kleenex to stop his nose from bleeding.  
  
"Oh and remind me to sue that Spike kid, I've got a good mind to have him sent to jail for this!"  
  
"Uh...Jerry?" The cameraman says with hesitance.  
  
"What? What's your problem now?!"  
  
Phil points ahead and shows him that the van they came in is no longer sitting there. The reporter looks down the roadway and sees it driving off down the narrow path they all came up on. Jerry angrily throws down his blood soaked tissue and starts to rant and curse, shaking his fist he screams at them as they drop out of sight.  
  
"I'll get you for this you goddamn punks!! Just you wait and see!!"  
  
Now he storms over to Phil and grabs the man rather roughly and shouts at him.  
  
"Idiot! You should have stopped them from stealing our van! Now we'll have to borrow one of the other newsmen's van."  
  
Phil shakes loose and shouts back at him.  
  
"Hey! Hey! I don't have to do dick for you...besides I don't think we're going to get very far in anyone else's van either."  
  
Jerry laughs, "Oh really? And what makes you say that?"  
  
Pointing to the other vehicles tires, he shows the reporter why.  
  
"Cause they took out all the tires while we weren't looking...that's why!"  
  
As he inspected each news van it was very apparent that he was speaking the truth. Spike and Carly had managed to deflate all of their tires by slashing them on the side. Once again the reporter when into a madman fury and kicked the dirt with his foot. The cameraman stood there and shook his head at the twit, he simple chuckled at the guys' bad luck and looked over at road where Spike and Carly had drove of from and gave a thumbs up.  
  
"Nice one kids. Good luck to ya." 


	23. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 23 – The Final Solution

Optimus Prime started to walk away from the massive boulder he had just dropped on top of the evil Decepticon leader, and just when he thought it was over, a huge red laser blast ripped through the big rock. Shattering into millions of pieces, the boulder soon became a non-existent as Megatron stood up after its destruction. Looking tarnished and even dented in a few places on his body, the evil leader growled at his nemesis and squinted at him with great hatred.

"PRIME!!!"

Optimus had seen the blast wave and had his arms up to deflect the debris hurling everywhere. As he lowered them, he saw Megatron taking strong slow steps at him, each one became faster and faster, until Megatron was suddenly rushing at him in anger. Optimus Prime and Megatron clashed with one another and began exchanging blows to the head, torso and even trying to lock one another in a bear hug. The rival leaders were matched for one another as every attempt made by one of them led to the other doing almost the same maneuver. Megaton soon found himself in a strong vice grip in-between the Autobot leader's arms and struggled to break free.

"This must end Megatron!" Prime grunted at him as he continued to squeeze the Decepticon. "You've destroyed enough life as it is...now I must finish you before anymore must suffer from your evil hand!"

Megatron's eyes flashed as he listened to him.

"If my hand is evil to you...then by all means...try this on for size!!"

The Decepticon smacks the Autobot leader in the face with his forehead and continues to bash Prime with it until he stuns him enough to let go. As Megatron becomes free, he quickly transforms into his gun mode and sends a powerful plasma blast at Prime's chest. The impact sends Optimus flying down to the ground and Megatron quickly transforms back into his robot mode as he completed the shot. Megatron aims his arm cannon at the damaged Prime and grins at him.

"I could give you pounding all day and not be tired, but like you said Prime...it's time to end this!"

Optimus got the strength to stand up and grab hold of the leader's arm cannon just as it nearly missed hitting him. This time, Prime took hold or Megatron's head and flung him with all his might to the ship still sitting in its launch bay. Megatron's body smacked the side of the vessel and caused him to stick to the side as force imbedded him into the metal.

"That's the impression I get out of you Megatron." Prime laughingly says to him in bad bout of hammy dialogue.

Groaning with pain, the Decepticon leader peels off and drops to the ground like a magnet that has lost its grip. Soundwave, having recovered from his fight with Sunstreaker, drags the leader over to his side of the cement barrier and sits him up.

"Megatron...Megatron!" The monotone electronic voice says with concern.

The leader's eyes focus on the cycloptic yellowed eyed Decepticon and tries to speak.

"The...the Autobots must not win Soundwave. I...I will not be defeated by a mere batch of renegades!"

Starscream soon makes his way over to the two of them and looks at Megatron with unsympathetic eyes.

"So this is the great Megatron's end...it appears that Optimus Prime has gotten the best of you after all. Ha! Some leader you are..."

Megatron sneered at him with great anger and found the power to rise up and choke the mocking Decepticon with his hand. His squeeze was powerful, Starscream was surprised by how tight his grip was and gagged as the leader continued to apply pressure.

"I'm not finished yet you cowardly dolt!! Prepare for a second wave of attacks!"

"But...ack! But Megatron..." Starscream tries to speak. "We're losing ...we can't take this pounding much longer...aagghh!"

"I'll have no Autobot take me alive! Nor any of my Decepticons if need be...we will fight till every last warrior is out of energon from his very spark!!" The leader screams.

Then from high above the two struggling evil robots, a voice echoes down to them as the sound of the ship's elevator lift comes down to their level.

"We may not have to do that after all Megatron..."

The leader looks over and sees Hook standing with Mirage as his prisoner on the platform, the Autobot is bound by powerful magnetic shackles and seems unable to break free of them.

"Hook! Where the blazes have you been? You should have been here to form Devastator and ended this whole thing!" Starscream howls at him as Megatron lets go of his throat.

Pushing the helpless Autobot spy with cruelty, Hook steps off and hands him over to Megatron.

"I had to make sure the ship wasn't going to be a target...something about the Autobots attacking us and not on the ship made me suspicious. That's when I found him lurking around our energon storage bay."

Megatron gabs hold of Mirage and brings him up close to his face.

"Soooo, you thought you could sneak by and destroy our only means of escape. The explosion from the energon surly would have wiped us all out and left nothing in it's wake. How typical of Optimus Prime...to win at all costs and still become the righteous hero for those here on Earth."

Mirage scowls at the Decepticon and stares at him with anger.

"Better to die as heroes then ego maniacal metallic morons!"

"Let me kill this one Megatron!" Starscream shouts as he points the barrel of his side arm cannon at the Autobot's head. "Lets make him an example to the Autobots that no one does this to us!"

Megatron chuckles softly, he lowers Mirage from his grip and pushes Starscream's weapon away. You could see there was an idea forming in this evil brain of his, a quick glimmer in his eye as his red optics lowered in thought.

"No Starscream...I have a much better idea. Lets see just how far Optimus is willing to sacrifice his own men for the greater good...it seems a bargaining chip has once again stumbled upon us with remarkable timing."

Megatron looked at his various warriors, those trying to retrieve the wounded and those trying to keep the firefight going. His small hand gesture to end their attacks was enough to make them all stop and regroup to him. The Autobots became confused at their retreat, not to mention the silence of their weapons fire. Prime raised his hand at the Autobots, all of who obeyed him without question. Cliffjumper had to help stop Bumblebee who was still firing away like a madman, you could see in his eyes that Gear's death had affected him and drove him to the brink of insanity. Brawn came to help the mini red Autobot as he removed the weapon from Bumblebee's hands and together they tried to calm him down. Optimus Prime finally saw Gears lying there in the open, his body broken and smoldering; somehow in his spark he knew the old fighter was dead. But as he tried to morn the loss of one of his fallen kind, the unsettling cease-fire was more on his thoughts then Gears at the moment. Ironhide stepped up beside the tall Autobot leader and whispered to him as he kept his gun poised and ready for anything.

"What the heck is going on Optimus?! Why are we stoppin'?"

"Something doesn't feel right Ironhide...." Prime says as his eyes squint. "Megatron is up to something."

Ironhide snickers, "He's always up to something...lets just go in and rush them. Finish it off like you said...once and for all."

Suddenly, Megatron could be seen standing up, his hand began waving as he tried to speak to Prime.

"Hold your fire Autobots!! I have something you might like to see!"

Coming out from behind the cement barrier was Mirage, Megatron grabbed him as the other Decepticons pushed him out and took hold of the back of his head firmly. With his massive arm cannon pointing at the Autobot spies' head, Megatron laughed with pride as he showed them all that he had managed to capture one of their own.

"Oh boy..." Prime simply mutters.

The other Decepticons now step out behind the leader and all point their weapons at the Autobots defensively. The Autobots now group up beside Optimus Prime and also keep their guns aimed at the now fully exposed foes.

"How utterly disappointing Prime." Megatron chuckles. "This was a well conceived plan but apparently you failed in choosing the right warrior to carry it out. Getting us away from the ship and sending in a spy to rig the energon for detonation was very clever indeed, but very poorly executed as you can see."

Prime lowers his gun and stares at his nemesis, "It was a spur of the moment idea Megatron, one I thought we could manage and end this war forever. If we are to be wiped out of existence...then you should be the ones to join us in that final moment."

"Till all are one Prime?" The evil leader snickers. "How stupidly cliché you've turned out to be. And here I thought you'd be more original, more cunning in your strategy then holding on to a belief of a dead robot's empty promise."

Bumblebee shakes his fist at Megatron and blasts him for mocking the words of Primus.

"You coward!! How dare you insult the memory of the greatest leader of Cybertron...he fought for your freedom just as any of ours! I'll make you pay for saying such a thing! And for my good friend Gears...you murdering bastard!!"

"Control your lap dog Optimus!" Megatron shouts. "Or there will be another one to mourn only this time in a much more painful manner!"

Optimus walks over to Bumblebee and calms him by placing his hand on his shoulder. The small yellow robot looks at him a sorrowful look and backs off from his angry stance. The Autobot leader looks back at Megatron and points at him.

"Let him go Megatron...he's no use to you, no more then any Autobot that you've manage to kill over the long warring years."

"True Prime, but this one has a valued cost to me now. I now have a hostage worthy of taking with me back to Cybertron and getting us off this miserable planet. Or is he nothing to you? Perhaps I should kill him now and get it over with?"

As Megatron points his cannon barrel closer to the prisoner's head, Optimus Prime looks into Mirage's eyes and finally drops his weapon to the ground. His hands rise up slightly to show him he is unarmed and gives in.

"No...no I give up Megatron. You win."

Ironhide runs up and points his blaster at the Decepticon leader, "No!! We've got to stop him at all costs!! I'll kill that son of a bitch, even if you won't!!"

"No Ironhide!!" Prime shouts.

He grabs the red robot and smacks the gun out of his hand.

"Why?! Why won't you do it?!!" Ironhide demands as he shakes the leader in anger.

Prime manages to ease the frantic southern speaking Autobot and pushes him off gently.

"Because we're better then him. We're not so sadistic that we'd kill our own just to satisfy our own sense of justice. We're not Decepticons...we're the Autobots! Honor, courage and compassion is what makes us the very living image of what Primus had wanted us to become...not evil monsters."

Megatron shakes his head and laughs, "Such utter nonsense! Your speeches amaze me to no end Prime. So what will it be Autobots? Will any of you challenge us and send your friend to the great spark beyond?"

Looking at one another with concern and deep in thought, the Autobots hesitate with their guns and then soon end up throwing them to the ground in surrender. Brawn chucks his with reluctance as does Prowl, Sideswipe, Hound and Jazz. Cliffjumper growls to himself as he mutters obscenities under his breath, with his weapon now thrown with anger to the ground, Megatron smirks with delight.

"So much for your great leader Autobots." He says sarcastically. "He's betrayed you by using your honor like a shield, that is why you are weak and have outlived your time on Cybertron. Welcome to the end...losers!"

Optimus walks carefully over to Megatron as he keeps his arms stretched out in surrender.

"Give me one last request Megatron..."

"You?!" Megatron scoffs. "Why should I bother?"

"Because you owe me at least that...from one warrior to another."

Sighing in disbelief, the Decepticon leader grants Prime's request.

"Very well...if only to look generous in front of your men. I shall hear this one last request from you...and only one!"

Prime lowers his arms, stares at Mirage and then looks up at Megatron with a dead serious look.

"Take me instead."

The Autobots all gasp as they hear Optimus Prime offering himself as a prisoner, as do the Decepticons who all give a shocked look at him for such a stupid move. Megatron isn't surprised at all that Prime asked that of him, in fact he had a very pleased air about him as his greatest rival was practically giving him the victory he so yearned for. With a smirk on his face, Megatron laughed out loud at the offer and lowered his arm cannon away from Mirage's head.

"You? You would take his place? Oh this is too good to be true! Sparing his life at the cost of your own...as I said Optimus Prime...how predictable of you."

"No need to rub it in Megatron..." Optimus squinted in anger. "Just let him go and I'll be your prisoner. I've tried all I can to stop you...but when it comes to ending lives or sparing lives...you and I are just totally far apart on what that actually means."

Megatron chuckles at his comment and prepares to hand over Mirage, but Starscream rushes in and points his two arm blasters at the Autobot leader. The action causes the Autobots to hold up their fists defensively, just as their Decepticon counterparts do as well; the minute someone shoots, they'll be all over each other within seconds.

"No Megatron!! You have him right where you want him! Kill him now and be done with it!" Starscream howls at him.

"Take one shot Starscream and I'm gonna rip out some permanent air holes in your chassis!!" Cliffjumper screams as he points at the air commander.

"Don't be the fool Prime!" Ironhide now shouts from behind the Autobot leader. "You know they won't honor their agreements! This is a trick! Let's run them all down and get this stalemate over with already!"

Megatron now points his arm cannon over at Starscream's head; the jet commander standing beside him notices the weapon being pointed at him and gasps in shock.

"Shut up Starscream and get back in line!!" Megatron says angrily at him. "If Optimus Prime wants to return with us and face his doom on Cybertron...then so be it!"

"But...but...Megatron!" Starscream whines. "What about the others? You will leave them here? Free to plot our doom upon our return?"

The leader smacks the air commander's arms down with his arm cannon. Gazing at him with a flash of red angry eyes, the silver robot points at Starscream's face and forces him to step back into place with just the sound of his booming voice.

"Shut UP!! I will do as I see fit because I am leader...not you! These lowly few Autobots are of no concern to me...without their precious leader to guide them, they will not be able to mount a big enough assault for us to even worry about. Now step back!"

Prime shakes his head at Megatron's rant, "There will always be an Autobot who will rise from our ranks and defy those who would bring about death and destruction. Silencing me will make no change of that; you'll only make me a martyr and inspire each of the few that remain to challenge you in the future. But I can only foresee that in the end Megatron...you will be destroyed by your own greed."

The Decepticon leader calmly claps sarcastically at the Autobot and mocks his words of wisdom.

"I think you should have become a poet instead of a leader Optimus Prime, it would have suited you much better in the long run. Now let us make the switch, I grow tired of hearing anymore of this gibberish you constantly swing at us."

As Prime walks forward giving a look back at his troops to remain where they are, Megatron unlocks the energy bonds on Mirage and keeps his cannon aimed at him to make sure he doesn't try to run, Prime and Mirage meet in-between and pat one another one the shoulder.

"I'll send ya a postcard from Cybertron, Mirage. Sorry I have to take your place and ruin the fun ride home." Prime jokingly says to him.

"It's ok Optimus...I'd rather be here then bear the weight on your shoulder right now. Besides...I think the ship will be too full for my liking."

Both nod in understanding and finally pass each other as they reach the other sides. Prime sighs as he stands in front of Megatron and looks up at the silver shining leader.

"Let's get this over with Megatron."

"Gladly Prime...gladly." The Decepticon leader smirks.

He quickly shoves Prime aside and fires his cannon into the back of Mirage as he still stands there not facing them. The impact tares off his upper back and collapses to the ground in pain. The smoldering robot is soon surrounded by the other Autobots, all of whom are trying to care for his sudden wounds.

"We had a deal Megatron!!" Prime shouted at him after seeing the results.

The grinning devil stood there and chuckled at him, "We do Optimus...we still do...but I will not let that one robot live for trying to destroy our vessel. Be grateful I'm letting your men live at all."

Megatron points over to both Skywarp and Thundercracker standing near by and shoves Prime over to them both.

"Take him and keep your weapons locked on him. The minute any Autobot dares to fire on this ship...Optimus Prime dies!"

The Autobots still helping Mirage hear his words and all scowl at the leader for bullying their leader and threatening them at the same time. Mirage still gasps in pain as Ratchet tries to mend his wounds; Wheeljack looks over at Prime and tries to give him a grain of hope.

"We'll keep the mission alive for you Prime! Cybertron will be free some day, bet on it!"

Starscream laughs at Wheeljack and mocks his foolish words, "Oh please...that's a bet you'll never win. Face it Wheeljack...you're history! Bwaahahahahahah!!!"

The Decpticons all board on the platform that barely fits them all and Optimus Prime as well. The lift rises up to the opening and the evil faction of transformers all enter inside. Standing in the doorway, Megatron looks back at the Autobot's angry faces and waves to them with a devilish grin.

"So much for the almighty Autobots! Farewell...Losers!"

The door shuts as his laugher grows, the roar of the engines powering up and the laughter of all the Decepticons inside meld as one as the ship slowly begins to rise from its concrete moorings. Bumblebee shakes his fist in anger as he watches the Decepticon ship rise up into the sky and shout with all his might.

"We'll get you for this Megatron! We'll get you back...do you hear me? MEGATRON!!!!"

As the ship soon fully leaves the rocky canyon, the TV van both Spike and Carly are in drives up and comes to a screeching halt just beside the Autobots. Carly steps out slowly and sees the ship.

"Oh god...they're getting away!"

Spike bolts out of the driver seat and heads over to Ironhide looking helplessly at the sky.

"What happened?! Why aren't you all shooting? Where's Optimus?!"

Ironhide looks down a the panicky human and sighs, "He's on the ship...Megatron has him."

"What?!" Spike says in shock. "Th-th-that's impossible! You guys were winning! You can't let him escape!!"

Brawn and Cliffjumper step over to him and try to explain.

"We have to Spike...as much as we all hate it..." Cliffjumper tries to explain.

"We had no choice...Optimus Prime gave his life to spare ours." Brawn says sorrowfully. "Mirage was going to plant a bomb...but...it kinda went south...if you know what I mean."

Spike looked over and saw the badly damaged Autobot spy gasping for breath. Carly ran over and wept for her friend who seemed very glad to see her again.

"Hey...there Carly. Ooooh...how's my brave human female?"

"Don't talk Mirage." Carly says with a slight smile. "Save your strength to live...you still owe me a fast drive on an open road remember?"

Ratchet looks at her and gently pats her as lightly as he can, it feels more like a nudge from large animal, but not at all harmful to her.

"I'm doing my best to save him Carly...we'll need to get him back to the Ark soon."

Spike shakes his head in disbelief, all this fighting, all the lives lost...only to end up losing. He runs over to Sideswipe and tugs away at his hand.

"You've got a rocket pack right?"

"Uh...yeah...why?" Sideswipe looks at him with curiosity.

"Then take me up there and we'll get aboard to stop them ourselves."

Sideswipe looks at his back, his jetpack is attached to his body and undamaged from the battle, but then he pulls away from Spike and nods in disagreement.

"I...I can't let you do that Spike. We're not supposed to interfere..."

Spike kicks him in the leg and shouts at him.

"Damnit! You owe me at least the effort to try!! If none of you wants to risk the chance...then let me!!"

Sideswipe looks over at Jazz, who now seems to be in command of the team in Prime's absence. A simple shake of his head of approval gives the tall red robot the permission to carry out Spike's foolish plan. Jazz and the others felt that Spike had every right to give it a shot, seeing how it was his world and his people that gave their lives to protect them. As Sideswipe sighs with reluctance, he takes hold of the angry human and bends his legs down as they prepare to blast off.

"Ok Spike...I don't know how far we'll get though. But if you want to try...then I'm with you all the way. Till all are one."

Spike looks up at the ship as it rockets into the heavens, "Till all are one...and the end of Megatron!"

Sideswipe's jet pack roars and soon the two lift off the ground in a fiery streak of blue flame as they speed towards the ship. The force of the take off takes its toll on Spike, as the G-forces alone keep him pinned in Sideswipes hand. On the Decepticon ship, Soundwave monitors their approach as he sits in front pilot chair and looks at them on the view screen ahead.

"We have an intruder approaching us, Megatron." The monotone cycloptic Decepticon says to him.

Megatron walks past Optimus Prime and sits in his new command chair. Both Skywarp and Thundercracker keep their weapons pointed at the Autobot leader and never take their eyes off of him. Megatron spins around in his new chair and looks at the widescreen viewer that Soundwave is pointing too. The image of Sideswipe and Spike rocketing up to them makes the evil leader laugh, a mere human and one defiant Autobot trying to challenge the likes of him and his vessel was comedy upon itself. Optimus look up at the monitor as well and notices the frail human friend in Sideswipe's hand.

"Spike? Oh no...no Spike, go back!"

Thundercracker keeps the massive leader back with his weapon, "Don't move Autobot scum!"

"Teach these two fools the meaning of 'Death from above'" Megatron commands to Soundwave.

Soundwave bows at his command and pushes various buttons in front of him. As Megatron laughs riotously, the back outside part of the ship opens up to bring out a large double cannon, which then points at the two heroes racing their way. The weapon charges up and shoots two long purple colored laser blasts at them, before Sideswipe could react, the shot manages to take out his rocket pack in a massive explosion. Optimus is horrified by the sight of them being hit and watches the two fall to their deaths in the sky.

"No!" He shouts. "Damn you Megatron!!"

The Decepticon leader spins around to him in his chair and giggles.

"They should have listened to my warning. Now that they are disposed of...its time to take you back to Cybertron were you will be publicly sliced apart limb from limb and have your head placed at the top of the tallest building of Iacon. You will be the symbol for all who challenge the might of Megatron and the Decepticon Empire that only one faction is supreme in the universe!!"

"Sounds like you've had this planned all along..." Prime notes with a sound of suspicion.

Megatron nods agreeingly, "Right you are, Optimus. And it gets even better...if you think I'm going to truly spare your friends and this planet from my wraith...you are sadly mistaken. Their fate is as sealed as yours."

The leader begins laughing evilly and the other Decepticons also begin to share his laughter, as the thought of total victory over the Autobots now seems at its very end.

"Just wait Megatron...you'll see...someone will always be there to take you out. Maybe even someone you least expected."

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Back at the Area 51 base, the large pulsating purple cannon sticking out of the ground swings slowly to the left and pivots to the sky above. Inside the solid lower structure below the ground, Doctor Archeville commands his soldiers as they control the massive weapon from their computers.

"Target that ship and get a lock on its right side engine."

"Aye sir." The blonde woman responds to Archeville. "Target lock acquired."

"Prepare to fire on my command." The old man says sipping on his hot tea as it gets handed to him.

Agent West kneels down beside him quickly after handing him his tea and whispers at him as if he's embarrassed to give him some news.

"Sir...uh...the weapon isn't at full capacity yet."

"What?" Archeville sneers in anger. "Why has it not been charged?! You had plenty of time to have this blasted thing ready!"

West nervously blinks as the man gives him a foul look and starts to explain.

"Nine hours was only a reasonable guess...we...we didn't expect it to be so damn powerful that it requires a full day and a half to charge. The most we could manage is only a quarter of its power need..."

Archeville slams his chair arm and shouts at him.

"You fool!! This is not the time to tell me this!!"

Standing out of his chair and walking over to the computer controls, he hovers over the woman operator and leans on the console.

"Damn...to hell with how much we have. There's no more time to argue this...I want that ship and I want it now! One shot will have to be enough...give me everything you have and fire it!!"

The woman looks confused and tries to explain, "But sir, with only so much power there won't be enough to even bring it down to the specified site!"

"Blast you woman! I said FIRE!!!" Archeville screams.

Pushing her out of the way, the crazed man pounds on the red firing button sitting in the middle of the board and screams at the monitor looking at the targeted Decepticon ship.

"You are mine Megatron!! MINE!!!!"


	24. The Transformers: Generation One Univers...

Chapter 24 – The Long Journey's End

The crazed laughter of Doctor Archeville echoes in the entire room as he watches the massive gun from the monitoring station below ground. With a large whine of power build up, the massive towering weapon grumbles as the energy flows through it and causing the tip of the barrel to glow as the charge comes to the surface. The cannon suddenly launches a burst of energy that streaks across the sky and causes the ground to tremble by the sheer power it unleashes. The men standing all around close by shield their ears from the loud scream it produces, the calm silence before the massive shot of power didn't prepare them any as they all dive to the ground after hearing the laser being sent out. The neon glow of the purple ray of light streams high above and over a long distance as it heads for its primary target.

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Meanwhile, as Spike and Sideswipe continue to fall to their doom after Megatron's deadly blast, Sideswipe manages to eject his damaged rocket back as it continues to smolder and flame. Pressing a small button on his right hand wrist, the pack snaps away and continues to fall downward well beyond them. Still within his clutch, Spike tries to stay alert as the speed in which they continue to fall is causing him to slowly black out. Sideswipe looks down at him and tries to keep him talking, even though the earth his coming closer with every second.

"Come on Spike...stay alert!"

"You...you think that's wise Sideswipe?" The young man chuckles. "We're about to become the largest street pizza in the history of the world."

The Autobot laughs slightly as well, "Guess that might be so...but how can you not enjoy that view before the end."

"You're...a strange...Autobot Sideswipe. It was great knowing ya."

Down below on the ground, the rest of the Autobots watch them plunge in horror. Ironhide uses his optical sensors to get a better look and describes it to the others.

"For Primus's Sake! They're dropping like asteroids in the sky! Sideswipe just ejected his pack and now they've got no way of slowin' down!"

Carly looks up in the sky with tears forming and shouts in panic, "SPIKE!"

Jazz frantically runs over to Windcharger.

"You've got to slow them down before they impact!"

"I need a refuel for my anti-gravity system...that's more then a leap for me Jazz...I'd have to use up everything I've got and then some."

"Ok you got it!" Jazz nods as he runs back to the other Autobots. "We need all the energy packs you can muster...so lend a hand and give it up busters!"

The entire group takes out any extra power pack cell from within their chassis's and gives them to Windcharger as he quickly walks around taking them all. Wheeljack looks at his and sighs.

"You'd better grab them in one leap Windcharger. By my calculations, if you over shoot there's no way you can manage to lower yourself in time to properly catch them."

Windcharger takes the concerned robot's power pack and smirks, "Well then...I'd better not miss huh?"

The small red and grey robot opens up his chest and places the extra packs into his spare reserve slots. Each one is capable of holding more then two, normally he wouldn't be able to keep so much power in his body, too much would overload his circuitry if he didn't expel that power quickly. As he closes his chest, the surge of power causes his eyes to glow brightly.

"Stand back people...time for me to fly!"

The little robot crouches down as he prepares to leap, keeping an eye on his falling targets, the small robot volts away like a superhero rushing to save the day. On chest is a small indicator of how much energy he is using on his anti-gravity unit, the bars slowly begin to fade one by one as he manages to get closer and closer to Sideswipe. With his hands reaching out, Windcharger makes contact with the two and grabs hold of Sideswipe's waist as they collide.

"Going my way?" Windcharger chuckles after taking hold of him.

"Bout time someone showed up." Sideswipe smirks.

Spike still looking very pale gazes at Windcharger and smiles.

"Super Windcharger to the rescue. They should make...a...a comic book of you."

The tiny Autobot begins to slow them down and uses the remaining power to hover safely back to the ground. More of his power bar indicators begin to fade off as he nears the halfway point on it. Suddenly, the large laser blast from Archeville's weapon streaks over their heads as the light nearly blinds all three of them.

"What the hell is that?" Sideswipe utters as he shields his eyes.

"More trouble by the looks of it." Windcharger says with a serious tone.

On the ground, all of the other Autobots see the bright flash as well, a large purple laser heading deep into the sky and giving a slight curve as it continues on into the stratosphere.

"Leakin' Lubracants!" Ironhide exclaims.

"You can say that again Ironhide." Cliffjumper utters in awe as he looks up at the sight.

Wheeljack looks over at Jazz and whispers, "Dear Primus...its heading straight for the ship!"

"Well, I'll be...its just as he said it would happen." Jazz said to himself in thought.

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On board the Decepticon ship, Megatron continues to gloat over Optimus Prime as the silver robot chuckles away in his chair.

"We're almost clear of this planet's biosphere Prime...take your last look at it. For soon this whole world will be nothing but a memory to you for as long as you live...which, I'm afraid, won't be very long at all."

"Wait for it Megatron...just wait for it..." Prime speaks to him in a rather curious tone.

The Leader rises out of his chair as he wonders what Optimus is talking about. The Autobot doesn't look frightened at all to him; in fact, Prime is tapping his fingers on his folded arms and looking very patient.

"Wait? Wait for what? Why aren't you trembling in fear?"

Soundwave quickly spins around in his chair and shouts at the leader.

"MEGATRON!!! INCOMING FIRE!!"

The Decepticon leader turns to see the large main viewer, on the screen is the laser blast heading straight for them and with no time to react, Megatron just utters the only thing he can.

"NO!"

The blast strikes the side of the ship, just where the right engine happens to be, and manages to slice it off completely from the hull. With no engine on it's right side, the ship veers quickly to the left and begins to spiral down ward into the atmosphere again. Everyone inside is thrown about as the vessel buckles from the new direction, warning sirens and red lights flash throughout the ship as the screams of all the Decepticons join in with the panic. The smoke fills the control room and fire shoots out from the exploding computers around them. Prime manages to stand up again as the ship levels off and becomes trapped in a slow descent down to the planet again. With both Thundercracker and Skywarp no longer near him, the leader quickly opens his left leg compartment and a replica of his gun pops out into his hands. Equal in size and looks, the massive hand weapon glistens in the soft light of the flames as he points it over to Megatron. The Decepticon leader kicks off Rumble who was lying over top of him after the spiral, and rises up from his spot slowly as he spots Optimus with his gun.

"Surprise Megatron!" Prime proudly states.

"You knew..." Megatron grumbles at him. "You knew this would happen!! Didn't You?!!"

"That's right Megatron...I told you not to underestimate these beings and certainly not me either. After seeing their secret weapons during our battles, I had a hunch this would take place...only much sooner. I knew those military men had a plan for us...I played their game long enough to get this ship well beyond their grip. Funny, how things turned out. But that's humans for ya...unpredictable."

"You...you planned this whole thing all along? That's impossible!"

Prime continued to keep his gun aimed at the Decepticon, "Not impossible Megatron...inevitable. And that's not the only surprise I've got for you. Mirage code 221, Activate!"

On the large Autobot's shoulder, a small device begins to uncloak, Optimus Prime grips it off of his metallic structure and holds it up to show Megatron.

"Mirage gave me more then just a simple goodbye after our handshake...he gave me the means to end your little cargo run for good."

Megatron's eyes widened with fear, it was one of Mirage's bombs that he had been attempting to place on the side of their energon stack down in the cargo hold. The two leaders locked eyes, Primes were calm and gave an air of control, while Megatron's could see what the Autobot leader was thinking and flashed with anger.

"You wouldn't dare!" Megatron screams.

"Oh wouldn't I? How well do you know me Megatron? Hm? How well? Well, I'm afraid the time to figure that out...has long past. Welcome to oblivion." The Autobot leader snickers.

Megatron points to Prime and orders his Decepticons recovering from the attack, "STOP HIM!!"

Prime fires his long black gun and takes out the few taking aim. Thundercracker, Soundwave, Starscream and two of the Reflectors all get a quick volley of Optimus Prime's weapon, the leader is quick on his trigger and a skilled shot as he takes each one out. Megatron tries to transform into his gun mode, but Prime instantly gets another shot off in his direction and knocks the evil leader to the ship controls. He had managed to stop the Decepticon while in mid-transformation. With everyone clear of his path, the Autobot warrior transforms into his tractor-trailer mode and rushes for the corridor that leads to the cargo bay. Ravage runs in front of the doorway to stop him, only to be run down like critter on a freeway. The black metallic cat howls in pain as it feels the impact of Optimus's grill work.

"After him you fools!! After him!!!" Megatron screams as he tires to recover.

Hook helps rumble and Starscream up as they all begin to quickly sprint for the cargo hold Prime is rushing too. The rest of the Constructicons are trying to repair the flaming ship inside as they hurry to regain the ship's controls. The Autobot rig continues to speed down the long hallway as he notices the cargo doorway straight ahead of him. Waiting at the door was one of the remaining Reflector trio, pointing his gun and firing away, the Decepticon was doing very little to stop the bulky tractor trailer transformer from coming. With the last look of fear in Reflector's eyes, Optimus Prime smashed through him and the doors as he broke inside the room. Reflector's body was utterly destroyed into a million pieces, the sheer impact managed to kill this transformer instantly.

"Say hello to Gears for me!" Prime screams as he crushes the remaining parts of Reflector on the floor.

As he sees the Energon stack near by, he quickly transforms while still in motion. With the small bomb still in his hand, the massive Autobot flicks the center button with his thumb and throws it over to the energy-bonded cubes. The bomb instantly attaches to the side and starts an instant count down from ten seconds. The digital counter slowly rolls each second as Prime completes his transformation again as he flies though the air. Back in his rig mode, his wheels touch the floor again and continues to speed down the room. Rumble and Starscream run into the room and open fire at the fleeing Autobot. Hook runs in and suddenly notices the timer.

"OH SHOCK! He's attached the bomb!!"

Rumble stops firing and runs back down the corridor in a panic.

"Waah! We're all going to die!! Megatron...MEGATRON!!"

Starscream hears Hook's grim discovery and goes into a violent shooting tantrum at Optimus Prime. Without even realizing it, one of the Decepticons crazed shots blasts a hole through the hull in front of the Autobot leader and watches him drive right on through.

"Thanks for the exit! See you in the Great Spark Beyond fellas!"

"NOOOOO!!" Starscream yells at Prime as he launches out of the ship.

As Optimus begins to drop away from the ship, he transforms back into robot mode and gives a last salute to them all. Megatron screams in anger as he witnesses his foe on the flickering widescreen.

"OPTIMUS PRIIIIIIME!!!"

Inside the cargo hold, Hook is helpless to pry the bomb off as the seconds continue to count down.

The Constructicon runs over to Starscream, "I can't take it off!!"

"To hell with the Energon...I choose life!!" The air commander screams.

Smacking a small console beside him on the wall, the large cargo bay door swings open sideways and the entire energy bonded platform the cubes are sitting on ejects out of the ship. As the huge cargo just barely comes out and drops a few feet, the digits on the bomb come to their double zeros and the device triggers the explosive. As the small Autobot-made device detonates, so too does the entire energon stock in that split second. The massive explosion rips through the air and cripples the Decepticon's ship yet again. This time all the engines have been destroyed, along with some of the ship's hull and tilts the vessel in another direction, this time, it heads straight down. Megatron and Shockwave are the only survivors at the controls, as they both try to steer the craft, Soundwave gives the grim news to his leader.

"We have no control of our descent! The ship is on a collision course with the planet's ocean!" The garbled, and often broken, monotone voiced robot states to his leader.

Megatron looks up at where the large widescreen monitor once was. The blast took away that chuck of the ship as well, now he has a gaping wide hole in front of him, showing the Earth's ocean they are about to plummet into.

"No...No! Not again..." Megatron pounds on the dead controls. "I will not end this way Soundwave...Do you hear me?! Do something Soudwave! I command you to do something!!"

The leader frantically shakes his heavily damaged Decepticon soldier as he screams away at him, but as the two look up again, they both fold their arms over their eyes as they come crashing into the water as fast a bullet. The ship's impact causes a huge water and foam plume that shoots up into the sky as if a nuclear bomb was set off in the deep. They had managed to drop dead center into the Pacific Ocean, the large water tsunami was visible from the coastlines of America, and millions of people along its shores were gasping at the sight of it. People quickly ran from the beaches and their homes fearing it was heading their way. Panic had gripped the people watching, the news media was covering the entire event in the sky and as the ship crashed into the ocean. All over the world people watched and prayed for the safety for the many caught in the drama that was unfolding on camera. The deep blue waters swelled with large waves, and as they came crashing to the shores, the continuous strikes they made did less damage that many expected to happen.

Prime was still dropping like a rock in the sky and from the high altitude he was in, he could see the devastation the ship was causing below.

"Primus...forgive me. I could not see any other way, now...the task is done. Take me....I am ready to be with you and all those that paid for the price of freedom."

The robot spread his arms as he continued to fall, dimmed his eyes and began to accept the deadly fate that awaited him as well.

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Archeville sat in his chair with a sour look at the monitor's repeating shot of the Decepticon ship crashing into the vast, deep blue ocean. The others around him were quiet and looking at the man as if to wonder what he will do next. The large TV screen beside the monitor he was previously looking at had the live satellite camera shots of Optimus Prime falling back towards Earth. The old man breathed with contempt as he gazed at the victorious Autobot and rose out of his chair slowly.

"Can we send out another shot?" He asks the woman sitting at the console.

"No sir. The energy output has fallen to even attempt a second attack."

Walking over to the monitor, the old man purses his lips in frustration and taps lightly at the image of Optimus Prime.

"So much for giving you a quick death Prime. Perhaps the crushing pain of hitting the Earth will be the last painful memory you'll ever remember. I hope you die horribly."

Turning around, Archeville looks at Agent West and folds his arms together.

"Can we locate the Decepticon ship position from the satellite?"

West nervously twiddles his fingers and licks his lower lip before he speaks, "Sir...the impact would have scattered the ship all over the bottom. Tracking will be impossible from space seeing how the Autobot computer Telatran One will be monitoring our movements up there."

"Yes..."The Doctor thinks as he rubs his chin. "That blasted computer of theirs would alert the Autobots if we tried, I should have secured that Ark better when it was discovered and had that ship's computer core ripped out. But...what's done is done."

He walks over to a large electronic map of the Earth, a see-through plastic one that displays the area of the Pacific Ocean where the Decepticon ship crashed.

"We must begin to prepare for retrieval. I want submarines modified immediately, contact the levels of Government to avoid this section of the ocean and select the best soldiers for deep sea assignment."

West points to the various people around him to do as the old man instructed and sighed as he approached him with caution.

"This will take time sir. We didn't anticipate for this contingency."

"And why the hell not!" Archeville shouted. "This is what we do for god's sake! Plan for every sort of possibility!"

Once again the room stood still as his outbursts of utter rage nearly scared the room to death. Adjusting his light suit jacket and tie, he eyes them all as his scowl of disparagement quickly changes into that of calm. The old man starts to head out of the room, pausing for a second at the doorway, he turns around and gives the soldiers one last order.

"Proceed to lower the weapon, turn off all energy reserves and have all troops stand down from their positions."

West approaches Archeville with concern.

"But sir? What of the Autobots and the millions of people that witnessed the laser shot?"

"Come with me West...there is so much to do and so little time to do it. The Decepticon's will be ours, no matter who stands in our way." The old man giggles as he grabs hold of the Agent's arm and pulls him along.

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As Windcharger lands with Sideswipe and Spike in his arms, Carly runs over to the bewildered looking young man and gives him a large hug as he steps down on the ground.

"You idiot! Never make a stupid mistake like that again." She said.

"Well I had to do something." Spike says back at her. "Besides...you had your big adventure with Mirage...guess it was my turn."

"Show off." She smiles as she continues to hug him.

Sideswipe and Windcharger run over to Ironhide who is still using his visor to look at the sky with a horrified look on his face.

"Oh...Oh Primus no!!" The robot screams as he gazes up. "Optimus Prime...he...he made it out of the ship and falling down to Earth as well!!"

Hound steps up beside Ironhide and uses his superior optics to zoom in at the sky as well, with his mounted shoulder rocket, a small green holographic light pierces out of the tip of it and gives everyone a glimpse of what he can see. The hologram display is round and looks more like a flat 2D image of Optimus Prime falling in the blue atmosphere. Bumblebee rushes over and looks at it with panic.

"Optimus! We gotta do something guys!"

Jazz looks over at both Windcharger and Trailbreaker, "Quick Windcharger, fly back up and slow his fall. Trailbreaker, make a force field to help ease their return."

"I'm all out of juice Jazz!" Windcharger reveals to him. "I barely have enough to even go a few feet up. It was a long way up and a waste of more power just to hover back down again."

"I'm out of power as well." Trailbreaker speaks in a worried tone. "What with the battle with the Decepticons and giving Windcharger my power pack...I'm totally spent. Besides, even if I did have enough to create one...at the rate Prime is falling, he would shatter like glass on my shield as well."

"At the rate he's falling..." Wheeljack estimates. "We'd need more then one of us to slow him down. But with no power and no one else with flying capabilities...face it...we can't do anything!"

Cliffjumper pounces on Wheeljack and shakes him in anger, "That's it?! That's all you got for us smart guy? Some genius you are...you can't even save your own leader!"

Hound suddenly tracks something in the sky and moves his holographic eye over to the incoming shadows heading straight towards falling Autobot leader.

"What the heck? Guys...Guys!! Take a look at this!"

Spike, Carly and all the other Autobots ran up to see Hound's hologram image; peering at it with curiosity, Spike and Carly tried to make out the faint blurs.

"Wha...what is it Spike?" Carly asked him.

"I...I dunno." He utters softly. "But if I didn't know any better...I'd swear they were..."

His eyes quickly light up and starts to shout out with joy. "YEAAAH! GO AIR FORCE!!"

It was indeed a group of four jets heading towards Optimus Prime; the bulky looking high flyers were streaking in with large magnetic grapples attached to their underside. All four were top of the line new aircrafts, a similar design as the F/A-22 Raptors, but with new hovering thrusters built into them making the jets look more bulky. The pilots swooped in over Prime and adjusted their speeds to follow his angle of decent, with a flick of a switch on their consoles; the magnetic grapplers powered up and grabbed hold of Prime's metallic body. A quick jerk slung the jets down as they locked on and soon fired up their powerful sounding hover jets to slow him down. Optimus switched on his optics again and saw the brave human pilots trying to rescue him. He looked over at each one of them and gently nodded at them as they all gave him a thumb up. The Autobots on the ground cheered in delight as they witnessed his miraculous survival, some screamed out at the humans in praise and both Carly and Spike hugged each other in relief. That was when Spike looked at Carly and embraced her in a very passionate kiss. She seemed surprised by his sudden move, but rather then complain or slap him in the face, the woman gave in as well and continued to make the kiss last. Bumblebee watched them from where he was and smiled, a smile that he had long missed since the accident with Spike's dad.

"Now that's more like it..." The yellow Autobot simply states to himself.

The human aircrafts soon brought Optimus to the ground, the two back ones holding his legs let go first, allowing the leader to stand up on his own. Then as he touched down, the second two turned off their magnets and backed away from him. The four lifted back into the air and started to make their way back into the bright blue sky. Prime looked up at them all and waved with gratitude.

"Thanks for the lift friends!"

Once they were gone, the Autobots ran to the leader and all greeted him with joyful faces.

"Welcome back Optimus!" Ironhide said in an almost tearful glee.

"We almost lost hope there Prime." Bumblebee says as he shakes his hand.

The Autobot leader looks at them all with pride and nods in thanks.

"I've always said...no Autobot is doomed to die alone...so long as has friends to be there with him in the end. Even human ones..."

As the massive red robot looks down below, Spike and Carly approach him with great big smiles and touch his metal blue leg with care.

"You did it Prime...just like you said you would. Megatron is history." Spike says looking up at him.

"But I don't understand, who could have sent them to save you?" Carly inquires.

Prime rubs his manifold mouth and thinks about it. "Hmm. Well if I had to take a calculated guess...I'd say it's the one person who needed to redeem himself, not just for us...but for his kind as well."

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Far off into the near by rocky plateau, a lone figure stands on the top of the rise and observes the celebrating Autobots a few miles away. Lowering the massive binoculars, the man reveals himself to be General Hank Pressman. Still in his military suit and displaying all of his metals upon his left pocket, he gives a tender smirk and holds a small cellular phone up to his right ear.

"Mission successful base commander. I thank you for your help."

"A pleasure to assist you General, consider it a payback for all you've done." The other male voice says back to him on the phone.

"And thank those brave pilots for me as well...I know they'll have a lot of explaining to do once Archeville finds out."

In a far off air base, thousands of miles away from the General's location, the middle aged Caucasian base commander sat in his black leather chair and smirked as he talks to the other man on his modern looking black phone.

"Balls to that Hank. If Archeville doesn't like it, he can kiss my ass two."

The General's voice snickered at the Base Commander's comment.

"You've been the best Ted. Don't forget to give that special package to that certain someone for me. And be sure to keep an eye on my son and granddaughter from time to time, huh?"

Base Commander Ted leans on his cluttered grey metal desk and holds the phone receiver closer to his mouth.

"Hank...maybe it's not too late. If you come here now I might be able to help..."

The General sighs, "It's way past time for that buddy. Just make sure you deliver that parcel for me, consider that my final gift to mankind...and the one weapon to put an end to Archeville once and for all. I'll see ya when I see ya."

"I'll see ya when I see ya too. God bless you my friend." Ted sighs in pity.

He hangs up the phone and looks over to the large flat brown envelope sitting beside his arm on the desk. Picking it up, the Base Commander looks at it with concern and eyes the General's writing on it.

ATTENTION: SENATOR SHAWN BEGER

CONFIDENTIAL FILE - FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

Back at the rocky plateau, the General flips his cell phone and places it into his pocket. With a quiet sigh and looking out across the beautiful landscape before him, he just utters out loud what he's thinking at that moment.

"Beautiful."

"It sure is." Another deep male voice booms out from behind him.

Without acting surprised or even turning around to look at the person, the General continues to look out at the sight before him.

"What kept you?"

Agent Drakemore now steps out beside him and looks out at the valley with him as he answers the question.

"Traffic is horrible. Not to mention the fact that there's a lot of reporters trying to get over here."

Pressman smirks. "Should have taken the south route into this region, less security and lots of kick ass trails."

"Cool." The Afro-American man in black says as he adjusts his dark sunglasses. "I'll have to remember that next time, bring the RV and do some off-roading."

Looking over at him, Drakemore gives a slight smirk. "So...anything you want to say before we do this?"

The General squints as he thinks, shuffling the ground with his shined black shoes, and then straightening his tie with a calm manner.

"Just two conditions."

"Name it."

"One, you stay the hell away from my family for good. I don't want anyone hounding my son and granddaughter...got it?" Pressman demands of him.

"Ok...done. The Second?" Drakemore nods.

"My disappearance...make it look like I was lost in combat. That way my family gets the benefits and no one can link me to the Project. I died as a soldier and with honor."

Drakemore nods again and smiles. "You got it. General, you're a good man. It's been a pleasure serving with you and well...I trust there are no grudges between us."

"No...no grudges, son." The General says as he shakes the Agent's hand. "You've done your job well. And I'll see ya when I see ya."

Drakemore nods to him as he shakes the old man's hand back and starts to walk away. The General looks out at the horizon again and breathes in the air once more.

"As I said...my god...it's a beautiful day. Make it quick."

The sound of a gun calking behind his head makes him close his eyes slowly.

"I always do General...I always do." Drakemore's voice booms out from behind him.

The black suited man pulls the trigger and the sound of his shot rings out across the valley, the calm sounds of the wind soon take over from the loud banging noise and all that can be heard now is the cry of a lone hawk flying in the sky.

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Optimus Prime walks up to Mirage as he's being carried over to Ratchet awaiting him to be placed into his open backend. Prime takes hold of the robot's hand and looks at his damaged areas with concern.

"Don't worry Prime...I'll be...I'll be ready for duty before you know it." Mirage jokingly says to the leader.

"You've done me proud soldier." Prime replies. "As far as any Autobot here is concerned...you're the bravest and the boldest out of the bunch."

Mirage smiles at the leader's comments and soon gets placed in by the bunch carrying him; Smokescreen, Huffer, Bluestreak and Prowl all lower him in and shut the door with care. Ratchet quickly turns on his Emergency lights and heads down the road. Prime then walks over to where the body of Gears lay and kneels down. Placing his hands on the robotic corpse, he gives a solemn prayer.

"May the Matrix guide you back to the All Spark, to await those of us who love and miss you dearly...when we shall all return and become one with Primus again."

Standing back to his feet and looking over at the other Autobots watching him with somber looks, the leader looks over at Ironhide and asks a personal favor.

"Will you do the honor and carry his body back to the Ark?"

"I'd thought you'd never ask Prime. It would be my pleasure...for an old friend." Ironhide salutes to him.

The Autobots pick up Gears remains and place him inside Ironhide as he transforms into his Minivan mode. Optimus Prime closes the backend door and taps Ironhide to head on out. As the red Minivan moves down the path, the Autobots all line up beside the trail and salute the car as it drives past them all. Spike and Carly, standing at the very end, also salute the dead soldier robot and hold their other hands together as they watch. Ironhide and Ratchet meet up on the dirt trail and quickly trans-warp out of sight.

"Autobots!" Prime shouts out to them in a commanding voice. "Let's go home. Transform and roll out!"

The group instantly all transform in unison into their various vehicles, each one revs their engines and prepares for their leader's next order. Carly and Spike casually walk up to Prime as he watches his soldiers with pride.

"Hey, think we could get a lift back as well?" Carly says as she sticks out her thumb in a hitchhiking manner.

"Yeah, how bout it Optimus? I'm sure my dad would like to see you guys pop by the hospital to visit along the way."  
  
Prime nods with agreement. "Sounds like a good plan to me Spike."

The massive robot leader folds down into his tractor-trailer form and opens both side doors for the two of them. As they climb in and shut the cab doors, Spike gives an uneasy look and asks the leader a question.

"Aren't we forgetting something?"

"Like what Spike?" Prime's voice inquires back at him.

"Archeville. What about Archeville and his secretive bunch?"

Carly realizes the same thing and agrees, "Yeah, that's right. Shouldn't we go after him as well?"

"In due time you two." Prime says. "Right now, lets just see what tomorrow brings. I think he's going to have his hands full after such a large display of fire power the entire world saw. But rest assured you can bet Archeville isn't going anywhere at the moment, now that Megatron is scattered in pieces at the bottom of your ocean."

"I guess that's the end of them, huh?" Spike sighs with relief.

"I hope so Spike...I hope so." Optimus simply states.

The big red and grey tractor-trailer begins to drive out past his awaiting Autobots, and as he passes them one by one, they soon follow behind as they head for home. They all honk their horns with joy as they all trans-warp into a massive green streak down the dusty road and vanish from the scene.

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The deep blue ocean rolls as the sunlight sparkles on the top of it as it penetrates the down into its murky depths. Deeper and deeper into the vast Pacific, fish swim with calm pacing and shadows of sharks skim below the prey the watch from underneath. Like a heavy weight dropping to the very bottom of the water, we see a large crevasse in the rocky ocean floor that takes us deeper still, the water is pitch black with very faint light giving off the smallest detail to the various creatures swimming around in its unreachable fathoms. A soft outline of a metal structure appears, large enough to be a ship and looking very fractured as it lies there. Deep within the various dark rooms, we see more faint outlines of robotic bodies lying on the floor, and as we peer into the last room at the end of the long tunnel, the very dark room suddenly shows a pair of glowing red eyes that puncture through the pitch black darkness with a gaze of utter anger.

"Op...Optimus...Prime!" The badly garbled voice of Megatron strains to whisper out.

END


	25. The Next Story Teaser Trailer!

THE TEASER TRAILER OF MY NEXT FAN FICTION!!!

A picture of deep space and the many stars that twinkle in the distance.

"They came to us from a distant world..." The booming narrator's voice says. "Seeking to end a never ending war and to re-energize their planet."

The empty void now pans over slowly to a small blue world and a yellow sun shining behind it in the background.

"A war that was awakened one hundred million years later on ours and thrust mankind into the very heart of their destructive conflict."

The sounds of Autobot and Decepticon laser fire fills the air as the Earth comes closer, in the background a few familiar voices faintly sound out as we fly into the Earth's atmosphere.

"Who are you?" Spike's voice asks.

"My name is Optimus Prime...and I come in peace."

"Weakling Humans!! I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.... you will do as I command or be destroyed!!"

"Who ever wins...and whom ever loses.", Archeville chuckles, "Either way...you will be ours."

"This is Jerry McLane reporting for Action News...We're bringing you live footage of a major conflict just happening at Sherman Dam with what appears to be massive robots!"

"Finish him off Prime! Do it now!!" Ironhide's voice screams out.

"Victory to those who deserve it!" Megatron's voice now booms out as Ironhide's fades.

"PRIIIIIME!!!" Jazz screams out.

"Wonderful! Hahahaha! Wonderful!!!" Archeville's voice soon chuckles.

And now as the clouds part away, we see the land below, North America fully exposed in the sunlight and quickly rushing by as the fly in becomes more intense.

"Be careful you guys." Carly's soft voice now whispers out.

"This is madness Prime! What do you hope to accomplish by this? You seriously think you'll survive this slaughter?"

"No Megatron...I don't. But I know, neither will you...I'm make sure of it...personally!"

The sound of a massive explosion now roars through the air and as the land disappears and the rush towards the vast Pacific Ocean now comes closer and closer.

"With the Decepticons finally defeated...the long war for the Autobots is over." The narrator says as he returns.

Delving into the ocean, the view becomes blue and murky, some fish swim past as we go deeper and deeper. And then when the water becomes totally black...a pair of robotic red slit eyes opens in the darkness.

"Or has it only just begun?"

The eyes disappear in the dark again and Optimus Prime's voice is heard once again as the Autobot's face now overlaps the glowing red eyes.

"You're mister Connors was rather insistent that we not get involved, he told us that they had some sort of 'resource' at their disposal.... what that means I have no idea..."

Carly's voice now follows Prime's as his head fades into the darkness, all other sounds become silent as she speaks.

"You mean Project N?"

Now in a flashy array of special effects and the transforming sound of the letters to the new story appears; the music beefs up as it shows.

"THE TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE UNIVERSE"

The letters transform again and re-spell the text again.

"THE PROJECT N CRISIS"

"The Secret is revealed..." The narrator finally says.


End file.
